Short forms (I’m, you’ve, etc.)

Short forms (I’m, you’ve, etc.)
In spoken English we use the short form a lot. Instead of “I am” we say, “I’m”. “You are” becomes “you’re”. “Did not” – “didn’t” etc.
We also use these short forms in informal written English. When we use short form, we use an apostrophe (‘) for the missing letter(s).
Contractions (contracted forms) are short words formed from two or more words. The most common example is when we add “not” to an auxiliary verb in negative sentences.
In this work we will talk about:
– When are contracted forms used?
– Contractions and possessive pronouns
– Positive Contractions
– Negative Contractions
– Other Contractions
– Informal Contractions
– Short forms or contractions of auxiliary verbs (is, am, are, was, were, have, has, had, do,
does, did, will, shall, must, can, dare, need)
– Short forms of auxiliaries in combination with personal pronouns and demonstratives
(this, that, these, those)
– Short forms of negatives in combination with auxiliaries.

1. Using short forms
Contractions are mainly used in speech and informal writing. They should not be used in formal writing, like you can see in the text below:
“The User also agrees that the aforementioned individuals are not responsible for any Internet Usage Fees incurred while using the Site. The User agrees that the aforementioned individuals may not be sued or be held responsible for anything, as this is a free service and use is voluntary. Should the User NOT agree that the aforementioned individuals are removed from all responsibilities, the User should not use the Service.”

We often “contract” or shorten words in English. For example, we may say “he’s” instead of “he is”. Note that we usually insert an apostrophe (‘) in place of the missing letter or letters in writing. Here are some example sentences.

I haven’t seen him. = I have not seen him.

Who’s calling? = Who is calling?

They’re coming. = They are coming.

We do this especially when we speak. We do not contract words so much in writing.