Contractions
A contraction is a shortened phrase. “He will” becomes “he’ll”, “are not” becomes “aren’t”, “would have” becomes “would’ve”, and “it is” becomes “it’s”. In all of these cases, the apostrophe stands in for the missing letters.
You may find yourself being steered away from using contractions in your papers. Some feel that contractions are stylistically inappropriate in formal writing. Follow your teacher’s preference, but keep in mind that leaving out contractions can often make your words sound too formal and stilted.
Possessive pronouns vs. contractions
- your vs. you’re
- its vs. it’s
- their vs. they’re
All three of these pairs are the same kind of pair: a possessive pronoun and a contracted version of a pronoun + to be (you’re = you are; it’s = it is; they’re = they are). These are easy to mix up (especially its/it’s) because—as we’ve learned—an apostrophe + s indicates possession. The best way to use these correctly is to try replacing the word with the expanded version of the contraction.
- I think it’s going to rain → I think it is going to rain.
- It’s always means it is.
If the word can be replaced by two words (it’s → it is) then it is a contraction, and it needs an apostrophe (remember, the apostrophe is there to replace the missing letters).
- I don’t want to go to your play → I don’t want to go to you are play.
If the word cannot be replaced by two words (your → you are) then it does not need an apostrophe.
- You’re always means you are.
And if you are not sure, you can always avoid you’re and it’s without sounding stilted. You are always able to avoid certain words; it is not that hard to do!