When we learn English speaking, we will see some words which are written in short. Those are contractions. Contractions are often used in place of auxiliary verbs such as is, are, am, will, have, has, had, and would.
[player url=”http://learnenglish.vn/speak/contraction.mp3″]Contractions[/player]
See the following examples:
| Regular | Contracted |
| I am British. He is Chinese. They are Italians. | I’m British. He’s Chinese. They’re Italians. |
| There is a man at the door. Where is the butter? What is he doing? Who is that? | There’s a man at the door. Where’s the butter? What’s he doing? Who’s that? |
| She is going to the beach. We are going to eat now. They are not ready yet. | She’s going to the beach. We’re going to eat now. They’re not ready yet. |
| I will be back in a minute. There will be lots of food. | I’ll be back in a minute. There’ll be lots of food. |
| I have seen that movie already. She has finished her homework. | I’ve seen that movie already. She’s finished her homework. |
| I had played that game before. We would be glad to help. They would like to go now. | I’d played that game before. We’d be glad to help. They’d like to go now. |