Hi, I’m Maria. Welcome to Oxford Online English! In this lesson, you can learn about
the pronunciation of contractions. You’ll see how to make contractions, how to pronounce
them, and when to use contractions in English.
What are contractions?
Contractions are when we put two words together by making one word shorter.
For example:
He is --> He’s They will --> They’ll
Do not --> Don’t
But which words can you make contractions from?
Here are the words that can make contractions in English:
am, are,
is, will,
would, have,
has, had.
Let’s see an example in a sentence:
You are the nicest person I have ever met.
We can make two contractions here. Can you see where?
You can contract you are to you’re, and I have to I’ve.
You’re the nicest person I’ve ever met. The pronunciation of contractions can change depending
on how fast you’re speaking. The pronunciation can be quite clear and ‘textbook’:
You’re the nicest person I’ve met.
Or, the pronunciation can be faster and weaker:
You’re the nicest person I’ve met.
This fast, weak pronunciation is very common.
Let’s do another example:
They will think he has gone completely mad!
Can you see where we can make contractions? Here’s the answer:
They’ll think he’s gone completely mad! Many English learners find contractions with
will difficult to pronounce.
Let’s practice quickly: say they’ll.
As you pronounce the vowel, /eɪ/, slide your tongue forward to add the /l/ sound.
They’ll They’ll Now, try the full sentence:
They’ll think he’s gone completely mad! Let’s try one more time: they’ll think he’s
gone completely mad! Again, this time at natural speed: they’ll think he’s gone completely
mad! Let’s do one more example:
I am sure she would call if anything had happened.
Here, you can make three contractions. Can you see them?
We can make contractions with am, would and had:
I’m sure she’d call if anything’d happened. Try saying the sentence. Let’s do it together,
slowly: I’m sure she’d call if anything’d happened. Let’s try it once more, at natural
speed: I’m sure she’d call if anything’d happened. Do you notice anything here? There
are two things which we need to pay attention to.
Firstly, different words (had and would), can have the same contraction: ‘d.
Secondly, the pronunciation of the ‘d contraction is different in she’d and anything’d.
Do you know why?
Let’s find out!
Most contractions have two different pronunciations.
The only contractions which never change are will and am. Contractions of will are always
pronounced ‘ll. Am is always ‘m.
Contractions of are, is, would, have, has and had can have different pronunciations.
Why does the pronunciation change? It mostly depends on the sound before the contraction.
Sometimes, it depends on the sound after the contraction.
For would, have, and had, it depends whether the sound before the contraction is a vowel
or a consonant.
The contraction of have is pronounced /v/ after a vowel sound:
I’ve, we’ve,
they’ve.
After a consonant, the contraction of have is pronounced /əv/:
could’ve, would’ve,
might’ve.
The same rule is true for would and had. The contraction is pronounced /d/ after a vowel,
and /əd/ after a consonant:
I’d, she’d,
But:
it’d, Tom’d.
There’s one exception to this: if someone’s name ends with a vowel sound, we usually treat
it like a consonant for contractions. So, if you want to say:
Sophie’d help you if you asked her. Even though Sophie ends with a vowel sound,
we generally pronounce the contraction as /əd/, because it’s a name.
Notice how I said ‘usually’ and ‘generally’? It’s because this isn’t exactly a rule.
It’s more common, and I advise you to follow it, but not all native speakers speak this
way all the time.
Next, let’s look at is and has.
The contraction of is and has is pronounced /z/ after most sounds:
he’s, there’s,
Dave’s.
However, after /t/, /p/, /k/, /f/ or /θ/, the contraction of is or has is pronounced
/s/.
it’s, Seth’s,
top’s.
We don’t contract is or has after the sounds /tʃ/, /ʃ/, /dʒ/, /ʒ/, /s/ or /z/, because
the contraction would be impossible to pronounce clearly.
That leaves are. Are is a bit different, because the pronunciation depends on the sound after,
not before. Look at an example:
We’re a good team. We’re the best team.
Before a vowel sound, the contraction of are has a /r/ sound. Before a consonant sound,
the contraction is pronounced as a schwa sound: /ə/.
Now, you’ve seen common contractions and how to pronounce them.
Next, let’s look at the pronunciation of negative contractions.
If you have an auxiliary verb plus not, you can put the words together and contract not
to n’t.
For example:
do not --> don’t is not --> isn’t
have not --> haven’t would not --> wouldn’t
This isn’t a full list.
There’s one which is a bit strange: will not contracts to won’t.
Also, you can’t make a negative contraction with am not. You can’t say amn’t. Why
not? I can’t even say amn’t. Saying amn’t is really difficult. That’s why.
Let’s try a few examples. Look at this sentence. Where can you make contractions?
He does not understand why they did not help him.
We can contract this to:
He doesn’t understand why they didn’t help him.
Let’s practice together. Say the sentence after me, slowly: He doesn’t understand
why they didn’t help him. Now, let’s try again, at natural speed: He doesn’t understand
why they didn’t help him. Let’s do another:
They are not happy that the company has not told them anything.
There are two contractions here. Can you see them?
They aren’t happy that the company hasn’t told them anything. Repeat the sentence after
me: They aren’t happy that the company hasn’t told them anything. Try once more: They aren’t
happy that the company hasn’t told them anything.
We’ll do one more example:
You should not have said yes if you could not do it.
Where are the possible contractions here?
You shouldn’t have said yes if you couldn’t do it.
Repeat the sentence after me: You shouldn’t have said yes if you couldn’t do it.
Try once more: You shouldn’t have said yes if you couldn’t do it. Sometimes with negative
contractions, there are two possible contractions. For example:
They are not here yet.
You could contract this to:
They aren’t here yet.
Or:
They’re not here yet.
In most places, the first option is more common. That means you contract not.
However, both are correct, and it doesn’t matter which one you use.
So now you know how to form and pronounce common contractions, but when should you use them?
Generally, you should use contractions when
you speak. Using contractions sounds more natural in spoken English.
Look at an example from earlier:
He does not understand why they did not help him.
If you’re speaking to someone, and you say this sentence without the contractions, it
sounds a bit robotic and unnatural. Try it—say the sentence out loud with no contractions.
Doesn’t it sound a bit strange? Pronouncing the contractions makes it sound
much more natural:
He doesn’t understand why they didn’t help him.
So, are there any cases where you shouldn’t use contractions?
If you’re speaking more formally, you might use fewer contractions.
If you want to emphasise something, you shouldn’t use contractions. For example:
That is not what I said. He is the best player.
I have called several times.
You need to use the full, uncontracted form if you need to emphasise the verb or negative.
There’s one more case where you can’t use contractions: don’t use positive contractions
at the end of a sentence or clause.
For example, if someone asks you:
Is he ready?
You should answer:
Yes, he is.
And not:
Yes, he’s.
However, negative contractions can go at the end of a sentence or clause, so it’s fine
to say:
No, he isn’t.
What about written English?
You can use contractions in informal writing; you probably shouldn’t use contractions
in formal writing, like an essay.
Also, many contractions are used in speech but not generally in writing. For example,
you can say:
These’re the chocolates that your friends’ve sent us.
This’d be a good time to think about it.
Contractions like these’re, friends’ve and this’d aren’t often used in written
English, even in very informal writing.
If you’re not sure if you can use a contraction or not when you’re writing, then just use
the full form.
There are some more contractions like this, which are common in spoken language, but which
aren’t written down.
Let’s take a look:
Here’s a sentence:
They would have enjoyed it, but they would not have stayed long.
What contractions can you make here?
Well, would contracts to ‘d, and have contracts to ‘ve. What does that give us? In the first
part, you should say:
They’d’ve enjoyed it… Listen once more: They’d’ve enjoyed it...
Try one more time, a little faster: They’d’ve
enjoyed it… What about the second part of the sentence?
Not contracts to n’t. Have contracts to ‘ve. So, you say:
…but they wouldn’t’ve stayed long. Try saying the whole sentence with the contractions:
They’d’ve enjoyed it, but they wouldn’t’ve stayed long. Try once more, at natural speed:
They’d’ve enjoyed it, but they wouldn’t’ve stayed long. Do these contractions look weird?
If so, it’s because we almost never write them.
What other contractions are like this?
You can contract did to ‘d in speaking, but not in writing:
Why did you tell her? --> Why’d you tell her?
When did you get here? --> When’d you get here?
How did you like it? --> How’d you like it?
You can contract will have to ‘ll’ve and would have to ‘d’ve:
They will have left by now. --> They’ll’ve left by now.
We would have been late anyway. --> We’d’ve been late anyway.
You can contract not have after a modal verb to n’t’ve:
They could not have helped. --> They couldn’t’ve helped.
I would not have said anything. --> I wouldn’t’ve said anything.
Remember: use these contractions when you speak, but not in writing!
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See you next time!