Speak Faster and More Naturally with CONTRACTIONS 💬

So today I'm going to talk to you about a

bunch of different English contractions.

I think there's 28 of them.

So this lesson is going to be great for your listening, speaking, and pronunciation.

So today's lesson is all about contractions.

And first let's just talk about well...

What are contractions?

The word to contract means to squeeze together.

And that's what we're doing.

We're taking two words, and we're squeezing them together.

And where we end up omitting letters, we put an apostrophe instead.

And an apostrophe looks like this.

You will notice them when I give you a bunch of example sentences.

And to be perfectly honest, the reason this lesson is

important is because we use contractions all the time, especially when we're speaking.

They're also commonly used in informal writing

if you're writing a text message or an email.

They're not really appropriate for formal writing.

So be aware of that.

So today I'm going to talk to you about

contractions with subject pronouns.

And those pronouns are...

And I'm going to show you how they can be contracted with different verbs.

We're going to go through this quickly.

I'm going to say the words

I will then say the contracted forms, so you can hear my pronunciation

Then I will give you an example sentence.

And I will say it twice.

I'll say it once without the contracted form.

And then again with the contracted form.

So let's begin.

The first set of contractions I want to talk to you about

are those with the verb (to be).

I'm not going to keep the subject pronouns in the same order.

I'm basically going to put them in order of their conjugation.

I'll let you know what I mean by that in just a second.

I'll also throw in some other examples, so that you can

hear the contracted forms in some different contexts.

Let's start with (I).

I'm a doctor.

I'm a criminal.

I'm a real-estate agent.

Which sounds just like the possessive form of "your."

Now, let's look at he/she/it because the conjugation with the verb (to be) is different.

It's a sunny day today.

It's a busy day.

It's been a crazy day here today.

Now when you just heard those sentences, you may

even be thinking to yourself, you know...

It sounds a little strange without the contracted form.

And this might be because we use the contracted form so often.

That if you were watching a TV show, or a movie, or listening to music

you're going to hear it in the contracted form the vast majority of the time.

Not many people are going to say, "It is a cloudy day."

They're just going to say, "It's a cloudy day."

So again, that is why this is so important.

Now, let's talk about contractions with (will).

We use WILL + BASE VERB when we want to talk

about things that will happen in the future.

But we can contract the word WILL with our subject pronouns.

Which is something that's it always good to hear somebody else say.

I'll pay my share.

I'll pay for it, okay.

Sure, I'll pay for it.

I'll pay whatever they want.

You are going to pay.

Oh, I'll pay.

Hint. Hint.

And this, especially in American English, the T is going to have that Flap T sound, which is more like a D.

I forgot to say...what was my sentence?

Now let's look at contractions with the helping verb (have).

So we're going to contract the subject pronoun with "have"

when it's a helping verb.

That's the key word right there.

And "have" is a helping verb when we're talking about the present perfect tense.

Again, just pay close attention to those examples, and you'll see what I mean.

It's true. We were there last year.

You've already lost.

Yes, you've already made history.

But you've already begun.

Now we'll look at he/she/it because again the conjugation with "have" is different.

And in case you didn't know, this expression means to kind of go a little crazy.

To lose it right here.

He has gone off the deep end.

They have completely gone off the deep end.

Everybody's going off the deep end.

Also notice the spelling "He has" is the same as the contraction "He is."

The only way you'll tell the difference is based on the context.

Because again, we use "He has" when "have" is a helping verb

Which means we're talking about the present perfect.

This spelling similarity also applies to "She has" and "It has" as well.

It's been a pleasure.

Jack. Mr. Dawson. It's been a pleasure.

It's been a real pleasure.

So that's something to keep in mind when we're talking about He/She/It.

The spelling of the contraction as well as the pronunciation is the same.

He's. She's. It's.

Let's look at some contractions with the modal verb "would."

I'd love it. I'd appreciate it. I'd be your best friend.

You'd help me do that.

You'd love each other.

If we do it your way Kingslayer, you'd win.

I can't emphasize this enough.

It is so important that you learn and understand and can identify these different contractions.

Because we use them so often when we are speaking.

And now you can use them too.

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Thanks so much for watching, and I will see you next time.

See, it just doesn't sound natural.

It's so much better to say...

Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.