Contractions : Positive and Negative Contractions for Class 5 English

In this concept, the students will learn about positive and negative contractions. There are some examples and definitions of contractions and their types. Also, learn how to use contractions for wh question words.
In this learning concept, the students will learn the following:

To identify positive and negative contractions in English grammar.
To change positive contraction to negative by adding an apostrophe.

The students of class 5 English will learn all the concepts along with examples, illustrations, and concept maps. After you go through a concept, assess your learning by solving the two printable contraction worksheets at the end of the page.

Download the worksheets and check your answers with the worksheet solutions for the concept of positive and negative contraction provided in PDF format.

Definition:

Contractions are the shorter form of words or group of letters that are usually formed by the omission of certain letters of the following word.
The word ‘contract’ refers ‘to decrease in size’.
In contraction, an apostrophe is used to show the letters that has been taken out from the word.
Generally, we come across contractions that is followed by an auxiliary.

Examples:

Contractions for ‘Wh’ Question Words

We will often come across contractions that are formed by combining ‘wh’ words with auxiliaries.

Examples:

Likewise, this can also apply with how, who, what.

Positive and Negative Contractions

i) A negative contraction is a negative verb construction that ends in -'nt.

Examples:

ii) A positive contraction is a verb construction that doesn’t include the ‘nt’ or ‘not’.

Examples:

Why are Contractions Used?

Contractions reduces a part of the word so that it saves space in writing and time while speaking.
Hence, they make the speech sound lighter in nature.
Another reason for using contractions is its usage while framing question tags.

Common Mistakes

Avoid using contractions in academic and formal writing. Instead, try to write their full form in such places.
Do not confuse between the words it’s and its. Many people find this tricky. Remember, ‘it’s’ is the contraction form of ‘it is’ and ‘its’ is a possessive pronoun.

Incorrect and Correct Usage:

Pronoun-Verb Contraction Words for Class 5 English

This concept will help the students learn about the use of contraction words. They will also study pronoun-verb contractions words in English with examples and pictures. There is also a list of pronoun-verb contractions for better understanding.

In this concept, students will learn:

To write the full form of pronoun-verb contractions
To complete a chart by adding contractions

Every concept is taught to class 5 English students with the help of examples, illustrations, and concept maps. Once you go through a concept, assess your learning by solving the two printable pronoun-verb contraction worksheets at the end of the page.

Download the worksheets and check your answers with the worksheet solutions for the concept contractions provided in PDF format.

Contraction Definition:

Contractions are words that have been shortened by reducing one or more letters. A contraction is made with two long words that are combined to make one shorter word.
Contractions include a special mark called an apostrophe (’). The apostrophe (’) shows where one or more letters have been taken out.

Example:

The words ‘I’ and ‘am’ are made into a contraction by omitting the letter ‘a’ and replacing it with an apostrophe (’). “ I’m” has become a contraction.

What is a Pronoun-Verb Contraction?

A contraction can combine a pronoun and a verb together. It is called a pronoun-verb contraction.

Example:

Original Long Form	Contracted Short Form
I am	I'm
It is/It has	It's
She is / She has	She's
He is / He has	He's
You are	You’re
They are	They’re
We are	We’re
I have	I've
You have	You've
We have	We've
They have	They've
I will	I'll
It will	It'll
She will	She'll
He will	He'll
We will	We'll
They will	They'll
I would	I'd
He would	He'd
She would	She'd
They would	They'd

Let’s look at a few sentences where we will use pronoun-verb contractions.

We combined the pronoun ‘she’ and the verb ‘is’ to form the contraction, “she’s”. We omit the letter ‘i’ and add an apostrophe (’) in its place.

They've(They have) won the game

The word ‘they’ is a pronoun, and ‘have’ is a verb. We have shortened the words ‘they have’ by dropping two letters ‘h’ and ‘a’ and added an apostrophe (’) to show the letters removed from the word.

When to Use Contraction?

A contraction is an informal way used in our everyday speech. Instead of saying “He will come to my house”, we shorten it to “He’ll come to my house”.
These shortcuts can be used in informal writing when we want our writing to be more casual and less formal.