CONTRACTIONS 1
DID YOU KNOW?
Knowing when NOT to use contractions is an advanced writing skill — and examiners test it.
Contractions (it’s, don’t, they’re) are fine in informal English but inappropriate in IELTS Task 2 academic essays, TOEFL independent writing, and Cambridge C1/C2 formal writing tasks. Using them signals a failure to register-shift — one of the subtler things that separates a Band 6 essay from a Band 7.
Cambridge Use of English also tests contractions directly in Part 2 (open cloze), where students must recognize whether a contracted or full form fits the context. Understanding the grammar behind contractions — not just their spelling — is what this exercise is really training.
Knowing when NOT to use contractions is an advanced writing skill — and examiners test it.
Contractions (it’s, don’t, they’re) are fine in informal English but inappropriate in IELTS Task 2 academic essays, TOEFL independent writing, and Cambridge C1/C2 formal writing tasks. Using them signals a failure to register-shift — one of the subtler things that separates a Band 6 essay from a Band 7.
Cambridge Use of English also tests contractions directly in Part 2 (open cloze), where students must recognize whether a contracted or full form fits the context. Understanding the grammar behind contractions — not just their spelling — is what this exercise is really training.
Write out the full (uncontracted) form of each contraction.
1. I'm → ✓
2. he's → ✓
3. I've → ✓
4. there'll → ✓
5. we'll → ✓
6. might've → ✓
7. you're → ✓
8. she's → ✓
9. why'd → ✓
10. we've → ✓
11. where's → ✓
12. you've → ✓
13. they're → ✓
14. he'll → ✓
15. there's → ✓
16. we'd → ✓
17. wouldn't → ✓
18. I'd → ✓
19. couldn't → ✓
20. we're → ✓
More advanced English exercises
Apostrophe usage 1
Capitalization 1
Capitalization 2
Frequently misspelled words 1
English prefixes and suffixes 1
Their, they're, there? 1
Contractions 1
Abbreviations 1
Apostrophe usage 1
Capitalization 1
Capitalization 2
Frequently misspelled words 1
English prefixes and suffixes 1
Their, they're, there? 1
Contractions 1
Abbreviations 1
