Contractions

Where are the contractions?

• Did you ever put a stone in a campfire’s burning

embers? It doesn’t melt, does it? But inside the

Earth’s mantle it’s hot enough to melt rock.

Who’s going to volunteer for the USGS’s trip to

Earth’s center?

What are contractions?

• A word formed by combining two words and shortening one of them.

• An apostrophe ( ’ ) replaces the missing letters.– Sometimes a verb is shortened.– Sometimes a verb and “not” are shortened– Not is never part of the verb phrase.

• For conversation and more informal writing.

How do we form contractions?

• I am excited.• I am excited. → I’m excited.

• You are excited. → • You are excited. → You’re excited.

• She is excited. → • She is excited. → She’s excited.

• We are excited. → • We are excited. → We’re excited.

How do we form contractions?

• I have been to that movie.→

• You have been … →

• She has been … →

• We have been … →

How to make “not” contractions?

• Is not → • Are not →• Was not →• Were not →• Will not →• Do not →• Did not →

How do we make “not” contractions?

• can not →

• Could not →

• Should not →

• Would not →

• Does not →

• Has not →

• Have not →

What words make up the contraction?

• I’ve been working on the railroad.

• It’s a miracle that you’ve survived.

• How do you think they’ll feel when it’s ten o’clock?

• Tom’s parents won’t be happy when he isn’t home by his curfew.

Contractions – Danger!

• There (not here) or their (not our) or they’re (not we are)

• Tom’s or Tom’s (possessive or verb clues)

• He’s or he’s (look for clues about tense)

Write your own contractions.

• A pair of sentences that describe someone or something. – “The Empire State Building is very tall.”– “The Empire State Building’s very tall.”

• A pair of sentences that talk about possession.

• A pair of sentences in the future tense.

• A pair of sentences in the past tense.

Oddballs

• ’Twas the night before Christmas.

• It is two o’clock.

• Yes, ma’am.