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Infraction for JBoogie: Spaming
Post: Games that need a sequel.
User: JBoogie
Infraction: Spaming
Points: 2
Administrative Note:
Message to User:
Original Post:
Quote:
You lest out a whole part of the definition.
Wiki-In traditional grammar, a contraction is the formation of a new word from one or more individual words. This often is a result of a common sequence of words, or, as in French, to maintain a flowing sound.
In English, contractions are commonly used in speech and informal writing. They are almost always either negations with not or combinations of pronouns with auxiliary verbs, and in these cases always include an apostrophe in the written form.
The first category of contractions is those formed by an auxiliary verb or form of be plus the word not, with the o replaced by an apostrophe, e.g. don't (do not), wouldn't (would not), haven't (have not). Notable exceptions include won't (will not), shan't (shall not), and, in non-standard English, ain't (is not, are not, am not).
Although these were historically contractions, there are good reasons in current English to analyze them as inflectional suffixes rather than contractions.[1]
The second category is generally in the form of a pronoun (or occasionally a noun) plus an auxiliary verb or a form of to be, with the apostrophe replacing as few as one letter, as in it's for it is (or 'tis), or four letters, as in I'd for I would or I should. One of the largest such contractions is I'd've for I would have; at least one seemingly practical larger one, "I'dn't've" for "I would not have", is rarely used. Auxiliary verbs which can be contracted include will, would, shall, have/has, and had. In British English, it is acceptable to form a contraction with the verb have even when it is used as the primary verb (as with the phrase "I've a date today") as it is allowed also ,but less common, in American English.
Another usage is with the pronoun "you", as in "y'know" for "you know", "y'could've" for "you could have", or other such usages.
The only commonly used English contraction of two words that does not fall into any of the above categories is "let's", a contraction of "let us" that is used in forming the imperative mood in the first-person plural (e.g. "Let's go [somewhere]"). Use of the uncontracted "let us" typically carries an entirely different meaning (e.g. "Let us go [free]"). "Let us" is rarely seen in the former sense and "let's" is never seen in the latter one.
Although uncommon in written English, people often use complex contractions such as wouldn't've for would not have, or combining auxiliary verbs with nouns, e.g. John'd fix your Television if you asked him. Although these can look awkward in print, they are natural and frequently heard colloquialisms. Contractions in English are generally not mandatory as in some other languages. It is almost always acceptable to write out (or say) all of the words of a contraction, though native speakers of English may find a person not using contractions to sound overly formal.
Single-word contractions include: "can't" for "cannot," ma'am for madam and fo'c'sle for forecastle.
Words like gov't for government and int'l for international are shorthand, not to be confused with contractions.
Many people writing English confuse the proscribed possessive form of the pronoun it with its contractions. The possessive form has no apostrophe (its), while the contraction of it is or it has does have an apostrophe (it's). The same is true of the possessive form of you (your) with its contraction you're. See List of frequently misused English words.
Outside the English contractions described above, contractions are virtually the same concept as portmanteaux.
Contractions are used sparingly in formal written English. The APA style guide indicates that contractions, including Latin abbreviations, are not used in plain text. The equivalent phrase in English must be written out. An exception to this is the Latin abbreviation "et al.", which may be used with citations outside of parentheses.
I could care less about you. I don't care if you're British or not. I just asked eleven people, as well as my English teacher, if "'im" was a contraction and they all said no. I doubt eleven students and one teacher at one of the top schools in the nation would all be wrong. I win.
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09-16-2008, 04:09 PM
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