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 |
