|
Learn English- Online English
Courses - Unit
5
Grammar
1. Contractions
Many verbs have short
forms which are used particularly in spoken
English. For example: "I am happy today"
= "I'm happy today". The short forms
of the verb "to be" are as follows:
|
Singular
I am = I'm
You are =
You're
He is = He's
She is = She's
It is = It's
|
Plural
We are = We're
You are= You're
They are =
They're
|
Be careful not to
confuse it's with its. It's
means "it is", but its is a
possessive form we'll study later.
2. Negative Contractions
- Simple Present Verb "to be"
There are two main
short forms for the negative of the verb "to
be": "You are" becomes "You're
not" or "you aren't". For example:
- She is not
happy = She isn't happy = She's not
happy.
- We are not singers = We aren't
singers = We're not singers
The short forms for
the negative verb "to be" are as follows:
|
Singular
I am not =
I'm not = I amn't*
You are not
= You're not = You aren't
He is not =
He's not = He isn't
She is not
= She's not = She isn't
It is not =
It's not = It isn't
|
Plural
We are = We're
not = We aren't
You are= You're
not = You aren't
They are =
They're not = They aren't
|
* "I am"
Negative Contraction
You can say "I
am not", and you can say "I'm not",
but you can't say "I amn't".
3. Negative Contractions
- Simple Present
Simple Present negatives
contract in two ways: "do not" becomes
"don't" and "does not" becomes
"doesn't". For example:
- Statement: I do not like pizza = I don't like
pizza.
- Questions: He does not drive a car = He doesn't
drive a car.
And just in case
you need it, here's a table of Simple Present
contractions.
|
Singular
I do not =
I don't
You do not
= You don't
He does not
= He doesn't
She does not
= She doesn't
It does not
= It doesn't
|
Plural
We do not =
We don't
You do not
= You don't
They do not
= They don't
|
Now give some exercises
a try!
>>
- Next Page - Grammar Exercises - >>
|
