CONTRACTIONS 1

Grammar review A contraction combines two words into one, with an apostrophe marking the letters that were dropped: I am → I'm, do not → don't.

Watch out for ambiguous forms: 's can mean either is or has (he's tired = he is; he's left = he has), and 'd can mean either would or had (I'd go = I would; I'd gone = I had). The rest of the sentence tells you which one is meant.

One more to know: modal + have also contracts, as in might've, would've, could've, always spelled with 've, never "of" (a very common spelling mistake, since they sound identical).

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.