Verb short form

 

 Shortened Forms of the Verb ‘to be’

 

I’m	I am
you’re	you are
he’s	he is
she’s	she is
we’re	we are
it’s	it is
isn’t	is not
aren’t	are not
they’re	they are
there’s	there is
wasn’t	was not
weren’t	were not

 

 Shortened Forms of the Verb ‘to have’

 

I’ve	I have
you’ve	you have
he’s	he has
she’s	she has
it’s	it has
we’ve	we have
they’ve	they have
there’s	there has
hasn’t	has not
haven’t	have not
I’d	I had
you’d	you had
he’d	he had
she’d	she had
it’d	it had
we’d	we had

 

they’d

they had

Short Forms of Verb ‘to Do’

doesn’t	does not
don’t	do not
didn’t	did not

Shortened Forms of Modal Auxiliary Verb ‘Will’

I’ll	I will
you’ll	you will
he’ll	he will
she’ll	she will
we’ll	we will
they’ll	they will
there’ll	there will

Shortened Forms of Modal Auxiliary Verb ‘Would’

I’d	I would
you’d	you would
he’d	he would
she’d	she would
it’d	it would
we’d	we would
they’d	they would
there’d	there had
there’d	there would

Shortened Forms of Modal Verbs

can’t	cannot
couldn’t	could not
daren’t	dare not
hadn’t	had not
mightn’t	might not
mustn’t	must not
needn’t	need not
oughtn’t	ought not
shan’t	shall not
shouldn’t	should not
usedn’t	used not
won’t	will not
wouldn’t	would not

 

Short forms (contractions): I’m, he’s, we’re, etc.
I		he, she, it		we, you, they
am = ’m			I’m
is = ’s			he’s, she's, it's
are = ’re			we’re, you’re, they’re
have = ’ve		I've		we've, you've, they've
has = ’s			he's, she's, it's
would = ’d	I'd		he'd, she'd, it'd		we'd, you'd, they'd
will = ’ll	I'll		he'll, she'll, it'll		we'll, you'll, they'll

 

Short forms (contractions) of negatives:
don't, doesn't, haven't, etc.
isn’t (= is not)	hasn’t (= has not)	don’t (= do not)	can’t (= cannot)
aren’t (= are not)	haven’t (= have not)	doesn’t (= does not)	couldn’t (= could not)
wasn’t (= was not)	hadn’t (= had not)	didn’t (= did not)	won’t (= will not)
weren’t (= were not)		wouldn’t (= would not)
shouldn’t (= should not)
mustn’t (= must not)
needn’t (= need not)
mightn’t (= might not)
daren’t (= dare not)

 

The contraction ’s can mean is or has

▪ He’s going to the cinema. (= ‘he is going’)

▪ He’s gone to the cinema. (= ‘he has gone’)

▪ It’s getting dark. (= ‘it is getting’)

▪ It’s got dark. (= ‘it has got’)

 

See a further explanation and more examples: It’s = it is or it has. How to tell the difference.

The contraction ’d can mean would or had

▪ I’d = I would or I had

▪ You’d = you would or you had

▪ He’d = he would or he had

▪ She’d = she would or she had

▪ It’d = it would or it had

▪ We’d = we would or we had

▪ They’d = they would or they had

See a full explanation with more examples: I’d = would or I had.

Let’s = let us

▪ It’s sunny – let’s go to the park for a picnic. (= ‘let us go’)

▪ It’s raining – let’s watch a film at home. (= ‘let us watch’)

 

How’s, what’s, etc.

We often use some short forms with question words (how, which, what, etc.) in spoken English:

Short forms (contractions) of question words: how, who, what, etc.
who	who’s = who is	Who’s that man over there?
who	who’d = who would	Who’d like some tea?
who	who’ll = who will	Who’ll be here tomorrow?
what	what’s = what is	What’s for dinner?
what	what’ll = what will	What’ll happen if . . . ?
how	how’s = how is	How’s your father?
where	where’s = where is	Where’s the nearest shop?
when	when’s = when is	When’s your birthday?

 

Here’s, there’s, that’s

We can also use some short forms with here, there, and that:

Short forms (contractions): here, there, that

 

here	here’s = here is	Here’s the kitchen and here’s the bathroom.
there	there’s = there is	There’s a great pub in the village.
there	there’d = there would	If people drove less, there’d be less pollution.
there	there’ll = there will	If you come early, there’ll be more time to talk.
that	that’s = that is	That’s my house over there.