Contractions

A contraction joins two words into a shorter written and spoken form. The apostrophe marks the position where one or more letters have been omitted. This page teaches common contraction patterns only; it uses just enough sentence meaning to help a learner expand and spell the correct form.

Match the apostrophe to the missing letters

Two words	What is omitted	Contraction
do not	the o in not	don’t
did not	the o in not	didn’t
I am	the a in am	I’m
she is	the i in is	she’s
I will	w-i in will	I’ll

The apostrophe does not simply go between the original words. It stands where the omitted material belongs in the shortened form. Expanding the contraction and crossing out the omitted letters makes that position visible.

Organize common patterns

Contractions with not

In can’t, don’t, didn’t, isn’t, and wasn’t, the contraction includes not and the apostrophe marks omitted letters. Most keep a recognizable first word. Can’t expands to cannot, while won’t is an irregular form of will not and must be remembered separately.

Short forms of am, is, and are

• I am → I’m
• she is → she’s
• we are → we’re
• they are → they’re

Short forms with will

• I will → I’ll
• she will → she’ll
• they will → they’ll

These groupings help a learner transfer a known apostrophe pattern to another pronoun without suggesting that every possible contraction behaves identically.

What to notice

• Begin with the two full words and say the intended sentence.
• Identify the letters that disappear.
• Put the apostrophe at the omission point and keep the remaining letters in order.
• Treat capitalization as part of the spelling: I’m and I’ll retain capital I.
• Expand the finished contraction to check it.

Meaning can settle a spelling choice

The contraction it’s expands to it is or it has: “It’s raining” means “It is raining.” The possessive word its has no apostrophe: “The dog wagged its tail.” This page does not become a general possessives lesson, but expansion is an essential spelling check when those two forms compete.

Similarly, she’s can represent she is or she has. The sentence supplies the expansion; the apostrophe spelling remains she’s.

Common mistakes and exceptions

Leaving out the apostrophe. Expand the contraction, mark the omitted letters, then place the apostrophe before copying the shortened form.

Putting the apostrophe at the word boundary. In do not → don’t, the apostrophe belongs between n and t, where the omitted o was—not between do and not.

Confusing it’s and its. Substitute it is or it has. If neither works, the word is not the contraction it’s.

Trying to build won’t as willn’t. Teach won’t as the familiar irregular contraction of will not, while still using expansion to confirm its meaning.

A short teaching routine

1. Write the two full words in a short sentence.
2. Read them aloud and identify which letters are omitted in the contraction.
3. Cross out those letters and write an apostrophe at the omission point.
4. Join the remaining letters and reread the sentence.
5. Reverse the process: give a contraction and have the learner expand it to check both spelling and meaning.

If the learner struggles, return to the complete two-word form rather than correcting the apostrophe directly. Use letter tiles or crossed-out letters to make the omission visible. Then read back the learner’s form and ask which full letters the apostrophe is meant to replace.

Signs the skill is becoming secure

Signs of security include expanding a familiar contraction, identifying omitted letters, placing the apostrophe from that evidence, preserving capitalization, and using sentence meaning to distinguish it’s from its. A learner should also recognize won’t as a bounded irregular form instead of extending it as a general pattern.