Wikipedia:List of English contractions
- This list is part of the Wikipedia Manual of Style. For encyclopedic information see English auxiliaries and contractions.
This is a list of common contractions used in the English language. Please note that this page can be edited by anyone, so some of the contractions here most likely do not exist. Consult an actual grammar site to make sure any of these contractions can actually be used.
| contraction | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ’tis | it is |
| ain’t | am not / is not / are not / has not / have not [1] |
| aren’t | are not [2] |
| can’t | cannot |
| could’ve | could have |
| couldn’t | could not |
| could of | could have (nonstandard) |
| didn’t | did not |
| doesn’t | does not |
| don’t | do not[3] |
| gonna | going to |
| gotta | got to / got a |
| hadn’t | had not |
| hasn't | has not |
| haven't | have not |
| he’d | he had / he would |
| he’ll | he shall / he will |
| he’s | he has / he is |
| how’d | how did / how would |
| how’ll | how will |
| how’s | how has / how is / how does |
| I’d | I had / I would |
| I’ll | I shall / I will |
| I’m | I am |
| I’ve | I have |
| isn’t | is not |
| it’d | it would |
| it’ll | it shall / it will |
| it’s | it has / it is |
| mightn’t | might not |
| might’ve | might have |
| mustn’t | must not |
| must’ve | must have |
| needn't | need not |
| o’clock | of the clock |
| ol’ | old |
| oughtn’t | ought not |
| shan’t | shall not |
| she’d | she had / she would |
| she’ll | she shall / she will |
| she’s | she has / she is |
| should’ve | should have |
| shouldn’t | should not |
| should of | should have (not standard) |
| somebody’s | somebody has / somebody is |
| someone’s | someone has / someone is |
| something’s | something has / something is |
| that’ll | that shall / that will |
| that’s | that has / that is |
| that’d | that would / that had |
| there’d | there had / there would |
| there’re | there are |
| there’s | there has / there is |
| they’d | they had / they would |
| they’ll | they shall / they will |
| they’re | they are |
| they’ve | they have |
| wasn’t | was not |
| we’d | we had / we would |
| we'd've | we would have |
| we’ll | we will |
| we’re | we are |
| we’ve | we have |
| weren’t | were not |
| what'd | what did |
| what’ll | what shall / what will |
| what’re | what are |
| what’s | what has / what is / what does |
| what’ve | what have |
| when’s | when has / when is |
| where’d | where did |
| where’s | where has / where is / where does |
| where’ve | where have |
| who’d | who would / who had / who did |
| who’d’ve | who would have |
| who’ll | who shall / who will |
| whomst'd've | whom must would have |
| who’re | who are |
| who’s | who has / who is / who does |
| who’ve | who have |
| why'd | why did |
| why’re | why are |
| why’s | why has / why is / why does |
| won’t | will not |
| would’ve | would have |
| wouldn’t | would not |
| y’all | you all |
| you’d | you had / you would |
| you’ll | you shall / you will |
| you’re | you are |
| you’ve | you have |
References and notes
- ^ ain’t is used colloquially by some speakers as a substitute for a number of contractions, but is considered incorrect by others.
- ^ aren’t is usually a contraction of "are not"; however, it can be used as a contraction of "am not" in questions (e.g. "Aren’t I the greatest?"), though this is often considered substandard.
- ^ don’t can be used colloquially to mean "does not"; however, this is considered grammatically incorrect to most speakers.
shan't shall not