A complete list of contractions in English.

A contraction is a part of a phrase that has been shortened by dropping one or more letters. We use contractions in everyday speech and informal writing. In writing, an apostrophe takes the place of the missing letter/letters. When deciding whether to use contractions in a writing assignment, consider your audience and your purpose for writing.

In the table below you’ll find a list of the most frequently used contractions in English.

Contractions occur with:

pronouns + auxiliary verbs and some modal verbs.

I am = I’m
I have = I’ve
I will = I’ll
I would = I’d
I had = I’d
Who is = who’s
Who has = who’s
Who have = who’ve
Who will = who’ll
Who would = who’d
Who had = who’d
What is = what’s
What has = What’s
What have = what’ve
What would = what’d
What had = what’d
That is = that’s
That has = that’s
That will = that’ll
That would = that’d
That had = that’d
Now is = now’s

nouns + auxiliary verbs and some modal verbs.

The dog is = The dog’s
The dog has = The dog’s
The dog will = The dog’ll
The dog would = The dog’d
The dog had = The dog’d

names + auxiliary verbs and some modal verbs.

John is = John’s
John has = John’s
John will = John’ll
John would = John’d
John had = John’d

adverbs + auxiliary verbs and some modal verbs.

When is = when’s
When has = when’s
When will = when’ll
Where is = where’s
Where has = where’s
Where will = where’ll
Where would = Where’d
Where had = where’d
Where did = where’d
Why is = Why’s
Why has = why’s
Why did = why’d
How is = how’s
How has = how’s
How will = how’ll
How would = how’d
How did = how’d

with adverbial phrases with what and how.

What time is = What time’s
What colour is = what colour’s
How far is = how far’s
How long is = how long’s

with the verb let

Let us = Let’s

and with auxiliary verbs, semi auxiliary verbs and modal verbs + not.

is not = isn’t
are not = aren’t
was not = wasn’t
were not = weren’t
have not = haven’t
has not = hasn’t
had not = hadn’t
do not = don’t
does not = doesn’t
did not = didn’t
cannot = can’t
could not = couldn’t
will not = won’t
shall not = shan’t
would not = wouldn’t
must not = mustn’t
should not = shouldn’t
ought not = oughtn’t
might not = mightn’t
need not = needn’t
dare not = daren’t

Shan’t (the contraction of shall not) is rarely heard or written in American English, but it is still quite common in British English. Contractions for may not (mayn’t) is now almost obsolete.

The verb to be

subject+verb combination

I am = I’m
You are = you’re
He is = he’s
She is = she’s
It is = it’s
We are = we’re
They are = they’re

Who is = who’s
Who is not = who isn’t
What is = what’s
What is not = what isn’t
Where is = where’s
When is = when’s
Why is = why’s
How old is = how old’s

That is = that’s

There is = there’s

subject+verb combination and verb+not combination

I am not = I’m not
You are not = you’re not or you aren’t
He is not = he’s not or he isn’t
She is not = she’s not or she isn’t
It is not = it’s not or it isn’t
We are not = we’re not or we aren’t
You are not = you’re not or you aren’t
They are not = They’re not or they aren’t

The past of the verb to be

I was not = I wasn’t
You were not = you weren’t
He was not = he wasn’t
She was not = she wasn’t
It was not = it wasn’t
We were not = we weren’t
You were not = you weren’t
They were not = they weren’t

The verb to have

subject+verb combination

I have = I’ve
You have = you’ve
He has = He’s
She has = she’s
It has = it’s
You have = you’ve
We have = we’ve
They have = they’ve

subject+verb combination and verb+not combination

I have not = I’ve not or I haven’t
You have not = you’ve not or you haven’t
He has not = he’s not or he hasn’t
She has not = she’s not or she hasn’t
It has not = it’s not or it hasn’t
We have not = we’ve not or We haven’t
You have not = you’ve not or you haven’t
They have not = they’ve not or they haven’t

The past of the verb to have

subject+verb

I had = I’d
You had = you’d
He had = he’d
She had = she’d
It had = It’d
We had = we’d
You had = you’d
They had = they’d

I had not = I hadn’t
You had not = you hadn’t
He had not = he hadn’t
She had not = she hadn’t
It had not = it hadn’t
We had not = we hadn’t
You had not = you hadn’t
They had not = they hadn’t

This contraction is used with the Past perfect and past perfect continuous aspects.
e.g. He’d called her several times that day, but she hadn’t answered
e.g. She’d been waiting all day for the phone to ring and hadn’t left the house.

The verb to do

verb+not combination

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
We do not = we don’t
You do not = you don’t
They do not = they don’t

The past of the verb to do

I did not = I didn’t
You did not = you didn’t
He did not = he didn’t
She did not = she didn’t
It did not = it didn’t
We did not = we didn’t
You did not = you didn’t
They did not = they didn’t

The modal verb will

subject+verb

I will = I’ll
You will = you’ll
He will = he’ll
She will = she’ll
It will = it’ll
We will = we’ll
You will = you’ll
They will = They’ll

Who will = who’ll
What will = what’ll

That will = that’ll

subject+verb combination and verb+not combination

I will not = I’ll not or I won’t
You will not = you’ll not or you won’t
He will not = he’ll not or he won’t
She will not = she’ll not or she won’t
It will not = it’ll not or it won’t
We will not = we’ll not or we won’t
You will not = you’ll not or you won’t
They will not = they’ll not or they won’t

The modal verb would

subject+verb

I would = I’d
You would = you’d
He would = he’d
She would = she’d
It would = it’d
We would = we’d
You would = you’d
They would = they’d

subject+verb combination and verb+not combination

I would not = I’d not or I wouldn’t
You would not = you’d not or you wouldn’t
He would not = he’d not or he wouldn’t
She would not = she’d not or she wouldn’t
It would not = it’d not or It wouldn’t
We would not = we’d not or we wouldn’t
They would not = they’d not or they wouldn’t

would, could, should, might, must + have

would have = would’ve
should have = should’ve
could have = could’ve
might have = might’ve
must have = must’ve

All other contractions are of the auxiliary verb, semi auxiliary verb and modal verb + not type without the contraction of the subject+verb type.

shall not = shan’t
must not = mustn’t
should not = shouldn’t
ought not = oughtn’t
might not = mightn’t
need not = needn’t
dare not = daren’t

Can you think of any we may have missed?

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