One thing you’ve undoubtedly discovered about the Business English language is its apparent randomness when you learn a grammatical rule or how to pronounce a word. There you are, thinking you were making progress. Now you’re only left confused. 

It may not make you feel better, but everyone who learns this language faces the same problem. We’ve already mentioned even native speakers have encountered these same problems, and some of them have never fully conquered them. 

His one peculiarity of the English language, which seems to confuse many students, is the contraction. Students and native speakers have problems knowing when to use them and when not to. Some individuals have problems knowing what the contraction even stands for. 

If you’re having these problems or trying to avoid speaking with contractions for fear of making a fool of yourself, join the club. But now, we’ll give you a quick course in this unique part of the English language. Before you’ve completed this blog, you’ll be not only using contractions like a native speaker, but you’ll know exactly why and how you’re using them.

What is a contraction, anyway?

In its basic form, a contraction is a shortened form of a word or two words. The most common form is formed by omitting one or more characters and replacing them with an apostrophe.

Contractions are usually used in spoken English. Not always found in the written language, a contraction represents syllables that have been dropped by native speakers because, on the whole, they talk fast and compress the words together. One of the ones you've probably encountered frequently is "can't" for "cannot." 

You may already be using this one and a few others. They are, after all, a more informal way to speak, making you sound more like a native speaker. You're less likely to find them in the written language except in some informally written books, like this one, whose writing style is to sound more conversational. Essentially, English uses two types of contractions. The first variety is the type we've just defined, in which one or more letters are missing and replaced by an apostrophe. The list below contains a comprehensive list of contractions you may hear people speak, but it's not necessarily complete. 

These contractions have been used for hundreds of years and agreed upon as they were by speakers of the English language. Due to the possibility of being misunderstood, it's widely accepted in the spoken language that individuals don't randomly create their contractions. While these words are the informal presentation of two words, they are widely accepted by linguists.

Contraction

Below are many contractions and the words they represent: 

Contraction	Original
aren't	are not
can't	cannot
couldn't	could not
didn't	did not
doesn't	does not
don't	do not
hadn't	had not
hasn't	has not
haven't	have not
he'd	he had, he would
he'll	he will; he shall
he's	he is; he has
I'd	I had, I would
I'll	I will; I shall
I'm	I am
I've	I have

isn't	is not
it's	it is; it has
let's	let us
mustn't	must not
shan't	shall not
she'd	she had, she would
she'll	she will; she shall
she's	she is; she has
shouldn't	should not
that's	that is, that has
there's	there is, there has
they'd	they had, they would
they'll	they will; they shall
they're	they are
they've	they have
we'd	we had, we would
we're	we are
we've	we have
weren't	were not
what'll	what will, what shall
what're	what are
what's	what is, what has
what've	what have
where's	where is, where has

who'd	who had, who would
who'll	who will, who shall
who're	who are
who's	who is, who has
who've	who have
won't	will not
wouldn't	would not
you'd	you had, you would
you'll	you will; you shall
you're	you are
you've	you have
you aren't	you are not

There's technically one other form of contraction, even though few people ever refer to it as such. That's the contractions that English uses before full names to identify gender or occupation. In these, only a few letters of the original word are used, and when writing them, English rules state you place a period at the end. They should cause you absolutely no problem speaking the language; just be aware of the pronunciation if you read any material aloud in your daily practice. 

Contraction	Original
Mr.	Mister
Mrs.	Mistress
Dr.	Doctor
Atty.	Attorney
Rev.	Reverend

Learning contractions will help you speak English more fluently. When you can use the language comfortably and confidently and understand the language used by others, you will be able to speak it like a native speaker.

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As we wrap up our journey through the world of contractions in the English language, one thing becomes abundantly clear: these tiny words pack a mighty punch. From their formation to their usage, contractions add a whole new layer of meaning and nuance to our language, allowing us to express ourselves with greater clarity and concision.

But beyond their practical applications, contractions also serve as a fascinating window into the ever-evolving nature of language itself. As new words and phrases are added to our lexicon and old ones, fall out of use, contractions will undoubtedly continue to play a vital role in shaping how we communicate.

So the next time you use a contraction, take a moment to appreciate this humble linguistic tool's subtle complexity and beauty. Who knows? You might find yourself with a newfound appreciation for the rich and endlessly fascinating world of language.