A contraction is a word made from a verb and another word. An apostrophe takes the place of any letters that are left out. A contraction can be made by joining a verb and the word not, a word and the verb is, and a pronoun and a verb. Here are some common contractions that students should know how to spell.
Verb + Not
| aren’t – are not | haven’t – have not |
| can’t – cannot | isn’t – is not |
| couldn’t – could not | mustn’t – must not |
| didn’t – did not | shouldn’t – should not |
| doesn’t – does not | wasn’t – was not |
| don’t – do not | weren’t -were not |
| hadn’t – had not | won’t – will not |
| hasn’t – has not | wouldn’t – would not |
Word + Is
| here’s – here is | what’s – what is |
| that’s – that is | where’s – where is |
| there’s – there is | who’s – who is |
Pronoun + Verb
| he’d – he would, he had | they’ll – they will |
| he’ll – he will | they’re – they are |
| he’s – he is, he has | they’ve – they have |
| I’d – I would, I had | we’d – we would, we had |
| I’ll – I will | we’ll – we will |
| I’m – I am | we’re – we are |
| I’ve – I have | we’ve – we have |
| it’ll – it will | who’ll – who will |
| it’s – it is, it has | you’d – you would, you had |
| she’d – she would, she had | you’ll – you will |
| she’ll – she will | you’re – you are |
| she’s – she is, she has | you’ve – you have |
| they’d – they would, they had |
Sometimes the contractions he’ll, I’ll, it’s, there’s, they’re, we’d, we’ve, who’s, and you’re are confused with other words that sound the same. (heal/heel, aisle/isle, its, theirs, their/there, weed, weave, whose, your) Students must understand the different spellings and meanings of these words with the same sounds.