ON USING

CONTRACTION
Find a partner and mull on how the following
quotation relates to the message of “MOTHER to
SON” by Langston Hughes.

“Our struggles, efforts to face difficulties

in life, sacrifices, charity and fervent
prayers are the seeds of our success. To
be strong for storms
that last not fore’er as seasons change
with God in control keep us standin’.”
Pay attention to the two
underlined words.
„Ï What do they have in
common?
„Ï What punctuation mark is
used in each of them?
„Ï What term do we use to
identify the expressions that
use apostrophe in place of
omitted letter/s?
„Ï Why do some poets use this
form of expression?
Use an apostrophe to make a
contraction.
 When you create a contraction, you are taking
two words and putting them together. You
then insert an apostrophe to replace certain
letters in the two words.[4]
o For example: “he is” is contracted to:
o “he’s”. “They are” is contracted to:
“they’re”.
o You can also use contractions in questions
o . For example, “Where did they go?”
o “Where’d they go?”
3
•Recognize the difference between “it’s”
and “its”.

 One of the most misused contractions is

the contraction “it’s”. “It’s” is the contracted
form of “it is” or “it has”. It is never the
possessive form of “it”. Use the context of
the sentence to determine if you need to
use an apostrophe or no apostrophe for
“it”.For example: “It’s late.” You use an
apostrophe because this is the contracted
form of “it is”. “It’s been a lovely evening”.
This is the contracted form of “it has”.
•But a sentence like: “The cat licked its
tongue” does not require an
apostrophe for “its” because the “its” is
possessive in the sentence. “It” refers
to “the cat” and is possessive, so it
does not require an apostrophe. “The
cat licked it’s tongue” would mean
“The cat licked it is tongue” or “The cat
licked it has tongue” and this is clearly
incorrect.
Understanding the
Different Types of
Contractions
1
•Familiarize yourself with positive contractions. Positive
contractions are used often in common speech and in casual
writing. They are often used when a pronoun, such as “I” is
next to a verb, such as “is”. The most common positive
contractions include:]“I’m”: contracted form of “I am”
•“I’ve”: contracted form of “I have”
•“I’ll”: contracted form of “I will”
•“I’d”: contracted form of “I would/ I should/ I had”
•“You’re”: contracted form of “you are”
•“You’ll”: contracted form of “you will”
•“You’d”: contracted form of “you had/ you would”
•“He’s”: contracted form of “he has/ he is”
•“He’ll”: contracted form of “he will”
•“He’d”: contracted form of “he had/he would”
•“
2
Keep in mind the double meanings of some positive
contractions. Some contractions, such as “he’d” could be
the contracted form of either “he would” or “he had”. The
context of the sentence will help you determine which
meaning is implicated by the contraction. Always read the
entire sentence to figure out what contraction is being
used.
For example: “She’d like to go to the store.” This is the
contraction of “She would like to go to the store” as it is
the only grammatically correct option. “She had like to go
to the store” is clearly incorrect.
“She’d completed the work by the time I arrived.” This is
the contraction of “She had finished the work by the time I
arrived” as it is the only grammatically correct option. “She
would finished the work…” is clearly incorrect.
3
Identify negative contractions. Negative contractions are when
you take a verb, such as “are” and combine it with “not”. The
apostrophe is then used to replace the “o” in “not” so it
becomes “n’t”. Examples of negative contractions are:[8]
“Aren’t”: contracted form of “are not”
“Can’t”: contracted form of “cannot”
“Couldn’t”: contracted form of “could not”
“Daren’t”: contracted form of “dare not”
“Didn’t”: contracted form of “did not”
“Doesn’t”: contracted form of “does not”
“Don’t”: contracted form of “do not”
“Hasn’t”: contracted form of “has not”
“Haven’t”: contracted form of “have not”
“Hadn’t”: contracted form of “had not”
“Isn’t”: contracted form of “is not”
“Shouldn’t”: contracted form of “should not”
4
Understand the double use of some negative
contractions. When you are using the verb “to be” in
a sentence and you are trying to create the negative
form, there are two possible options. For example:
“we are not” could be contracted to “we aren’t” or
“we’re not”. “She is not” can be contracted to “she
isn’t” or “she’s not”. “They are not” can be
contracted to “they aren’t” or “they’re not”.[9]
The exception is “I am not.” It can only be contracted
to “I’m not”. Do not contract “I am not” to “I’m n’t”
or “I am n’t”. In English, the contractions “‘s” and
“‘re” usually appear after pronouns. For example:
“We aren’t ready yet.” “He’s not a good man.”
5
Apply only one contraction in a sentence.
It is grammatically incorrect to put more
than one contraction in a sentence that is
not a question. For example: “He’s not
here”, instead of “He’s n’t free”.[10]
Keep in mind positive contractions should
appear in the middle or the beginning of
the sentence, never at the end of a
sentence. For example: “I think we’re lost.”
“Yes, I think we are.” You would not write,
“Yes, I think we’re”.
Quiz
.I. In "Mother to Son," the mother compares her life to a
a. staircase b. river
c. journey d. road
2. In "Mother to Son," the stair has all of the following
flaws EXCEPT
b. tacks b. splinters
c. cracks d. torn up boards
3. In "Mother to Son," the mother tells her son
a. to be more carefree b. not to give up
c. to not fall in love d.to make more money
4. In "Mother to Son," the mother's tone is best
described as
a. harsh b. indifferent
c. fearful d. kind and firm
5. In "Mother to Son," who is the persona?
a. Son b. mother
c. James d. Hughes
6. In "Mother to Son," the tacks, splinters, torn up boards
represents……
a. challenges b. hazards
c. difficulties d. all of the above
7. In "Mother to Son," from which line does the mother
tell her advice to her son?
b. Lines 1-7 b. lines 8-13
c. lines 14-20 d.lines 21-22
8. In "Mother to Son," what poetic device is used when
the mother compares her life to a stairway?
c. simile b. metaphor
c. personification d. onomatopoeia
9. To whom does the mother address this poem?
a. Son b. mother
c. James d. Hughes
10. . What is the speaker doing in the poem?
a. sitting b. climbing
c. giving up d. eating

CHOOSE THE LETTER OF THE CORRECT CONTRACTION

OF WORDS.
11. We should not be late to the party.
A: shoul'dnt
B: should'not
C: shouldn't
D: sh'ouldnt
2. I would not call out if I was you.
A: wouldn't
B: wou'not
C: woul'nt
D: wouldno't
3. He could not remember the name of his
first grade teacher.
A: could'not
B: coul'nt
C: couldn't
D: could'nt
 4. She is not listening to the directions.
A: isno't
B: is'nt
C: is't
D: isn't
5. Mary and Clark will not be able to make it the
show.
A: won't
B: will'nt
C: willn't
D: will'not
6. Let us begin the lesson now.
A: Let'us
B: Let's
C: Letus'
D: Lets
7. Bill did not close the door when he left the
house.
A: didnt'
B: did'nt
C: didnot
D: didn't
8. They are going to the mall in an hour.
A: Theyare
B: They'ar
C: They'r
D: They're
9. You are going to the store with me.
A: You're
B: Your
C: You'r
D: Your'e
10. I had not finished my meal but they took my
plate anyway.
A: hadno't
B: had't
C: hadn't
D: hadnot