Use of Contractions Proficiency • I + will = I’ll

Contractions • they + will = they’ll

• A contraction is one word that is made by putting • we + will = we’ll; he + will = he’ll; you + will =
together two separate words and shortening you’ll; it + will = it’ll
them.
Contractions with Not
Contractions Know How
• If not is part of the two words that make up the
• There are about 70 contractions in the English contraction, you will leave out the o and replace
language. with an apostrophe. Squeeze the words
• Most contraction are made by leaving out two together.
letters like the word she will (she’ll).
• Some contractions are missing only one letter. • have + not = haven’t
• Words are squeezed together. • does + not = doesn’t
• Contractions with I and Am
• Whenever there is a contraction with I, I must be • is + not = isn’t
capitalized. • do + not = don’t
• You will only use am with I in a contraction.
Replace the a with an apostrophe. Squeeze the • had + not = hadn’t
words together.
More examples of contractions with not
I + am = I’m
• had + not = hadn’t
Contractions with Is
• must + not = mustn’t
• If is is part of the two words that make up the
contraction, you will leave out the i and replace • could + not = couldn’t
with an apostrophe. Squeeze the words
together. • would + not = wouldn’t

• she + is = she’s • should + not = shouldn’t

• he + is = he’s • can + not = can’t (leave out one of the n’s)

• it + is = it’s • will+ not = won’t (not willn’t!!!!!!!!!!)

• that + is = that’s Contractions with Have

Contractions with Are
• If are is part of the two words that make up the
contraction, you will leave out the a and replace
with an apostrophe. Squeeze the words
together.
• If have is part of the two words that make up the
contraction, you will leave out the ha and replace
with an apostrophe. Squeeze the words
together.
• I + have = I’ve

• they + are = they’re • they + have = they’ve

• we + are = we’re • we + have = we’ve

• you + are = you’re • you + have = you’ve

Contractions with Will Contractions with Had

• If will is part of the two words that make up the • If had is part of the two words that make up the
contraction, you will leave out the w and i and contraction, you will leave out the ha and replace
replace with an apostrophe. Squeeze the words with an apostrophe. Squeeze the words
together. together.

• she + will = she’ll • I + had = I’d

• they + had = they’d
• we + had = we’d
• you + had = you’d
Contractions with Has
• If has is part of the two words that make up the
contraction, you will leave out the ha and replace
with an apostrophe. Squeeze the words
together. This one is tricky because you can us is
too!
• she + has = she’s
• he + has = he’s
• it + has = it’s
• that + has = that’s
Using Hyphens and Dashes Correctly
Hyphens and Dashes
• A hyphen joints two or more words together
while a dash separates words into parenthetical
statements. The two are sometimes confused
because they look so similar, but their usage is
different. Hyphens are not separated by spaces,
while a dash has a space on either side.
Hyphens
• Hyphens are used to join two words or parts of
words together while avoiding confusion or
ambiguity. Consult your dictionary if you are not
sure if a hyphen is required in a compound word,
but remember that current usage may have
shifted since your dictionary was published.
Examples:
run-down, up-to-date
• There are some cases where hyphens preserve
written clarity such as where there are letter
collisions, where a prefix is added, or in family
relations. Many words that have been
hyphenated in the past have since dropped the
hyphen and become a single word (email,
nowadays)
Examples
co-operate cooperate
bell-like bell like
anti-nuclear anti nuclear
post-colonial post colonial
great-grandmother great grandmother
son-in-law son in law
• In some cases, a hyphen does change the
meaning of a sentence.
Example:
• I am thinking of re-covering my sofa.
• I would like to recover my sofa.
• Hyphens in Numbers
• Use a hyphen with compound numbers from
twenty-one to ninety-nine.
Examples:
• fifty-one
• eighty-nine
• thirty-two
• sixty-five
In written fractions, place a hyphen between the
numerator and the denominator except if there is
already a hyphen in either the numerator or the
denominator.
Examples:
• two-fifths
• one-third
• three-tenths
• nine-hundredths
• sixty-nine eighty-ninths
• Use a hyphen when a number forms part of an
ajectival compound.
An adjectival compound is formed when two or more
adjectives are joined together to modify the same noun.
These terms should be hyphenated to avoid confusion.
Examples:
• France has a 35-hour working week.
• He won the 100-metre sprint.
• Charles Dickens was a great nineteenth-century
novelist.
• Diana submitted a 6-page document.
• She adopted a two-year-old cat.
Dashes
• Dashes can be used to add parenthetical
statements or comments in much the same way
as you would use brackets. In formal writing you
should use the bracket rather than the dash as a
dash is considered less formal.
• Examples:
• You may think she is a liar - she isn't.
• She might come to the party - you never know.
Two forms of Dashes
• The most common types of dashes are the en
dash (-) and the em dash (——). A good way to
remember the difference between these two
dashes is to visualize the en dash as the length of
the letter N and the em dash as the lenth of the
letter M. These dashes not only differ in length;
they also serve different functions within a
sentence.
 Em Dashes

• Em dashes replace parenthesis at the end of a Examples

sentence or when multiple commas appear in a
• The teacher assigned pages 101–181 for
parenthetical phrase.
tonight’s reading material.
Examples: • The scheduled window for the cable installation
is 1:00–3:00pm.
• After a split second of hesitation, the second
• The 2015–2016 fiscal year was the most
baseman leaped for the ball (or, rather, limped
profitable year for the new business.
for it).
Using the En Dash to Denote a Connection
• After a split second of hesitation, the second
baseman leaped for the ball -- or, rather, limped • The en dash may also be used to indicate a
for it. connection between two words. Use an en dash
• Colons enable a writer to introduce a clause that when you need to connect terms that are
amplifies whatever came before the colon. They already hyphenated or when you are using a
are more formal than dashes. However, em two-word phrase as a modifier. When the dash
dashes are more emphatic than colons. When is used in this way, it creates a compound
you want to generate strong emotion in your adjective.
writing or create a more casual tone, use em
Examples
dashes.
• The pro-choice–pro-life argument is always a
Examples
heated one.
• He is afraid of two things: spiders and senior • The Nobel Prize–winning author will be reading
prom. from her book at the library tonight.
• He is afraid of two things --spiders and senior Differences
prom.
• A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly
• Examples
used to indicate a range or a pause. Dashes are
• A former employee of the accused company, —
used to separate groups or words, not to
——, offered a statement off the record.
separate parts of words like a hyphen does.
• “H—— are all the same. They cause trouble
wherever they go.”
• Carved into the dresser drawer was a faded
inscription: “Made for Kristina, by your de——
ted sailor.”
En Dashes

• Recall that en dashes are slightly shorter in

length than em dashes. En dashes may look
similar to em dashes, but they function in a much
different way.

• Using the En Dash to Indicate Spans of Time or

Ranges of Numbers

• The en dash is often used to indicate spans of

time or ranges of numbers. In this context, the
dash should be interpreted as meaning either
“to” or “through.”
Use pitch, juncture, stress, intonation, rate of speech,
volume, and projection in delivering lines of prose and
poetry
◦ What is Prose?
Prose is a form of language that has no formal metrical
structure. It applies a natural flow of speech, and
ordinary grammatical structure, rather than rhythmic
structure, such as in the case of traditional poetry.
Normal everyday speech is spoken in prose, and most
people think and write in prose form.
◦ What is Poetry?
Poetry is a writing that formulates a concentrated
imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen
and arranged to create a specific emotional response
through meaning, sound, and rhythm.
◦ Pitch
It is the degree of highness or lowness of a tone.
Example:
◦ Juncture
It is the set of features in speech that enables a hearer to
detect a word or phrase boundary.
Example:
◦ Stress
It is the degree of emphasis given a sound or syllable in
speech.
Example:
◦ Intonation
It is the rise and fall of the voice in speaking.
Example:
◦ Rate of Speech
It depends on the thought you are expressing and a
reflection on the speaker’s mood. It may also vary from
time to time and from passage to passage.
Example:
◦ Volume
It is the degree of loudness or intensity of a sound.
Example:
◦ Projection
It is the rise and fall of the voice in speaking.