Contractions Pronouns

7/27/2019 Contractions Pronouns

1/4

Contractions Versus Possessive Pronouns 2000 Firebelle Productions

It is not uncommon or people to conuse contractions and possessive pronouns.In the pages that ollow, well defne both and identiy how to avoid conusingthe two. Then youll have an opportunity to test your knowledge.

What Are Contractions?

Most contractions are expressions ormed by condensing two words into one.One or more letters are removed rom the original words, and an apostrophe isadded to take their place. The ollowing are some common contractions.

Id youd theyd hed heres isnt couldntIll youll theyll hell theres arent shouldntIm youre theyre hes wheres dont wouldntIve youve theyve shed whats doesnt wontitll wed were shell wholl didnt werentits well weve shes whos cant lets

Contractions may be used or ease o reading, or eect, or simply to squeezemore inormation into a limited space.

Original: You should notbe driving.Contraction: You shouldntbe driving.

Many experts say contractions are appropriate only or inormal writing andspeech, not or ormal writing. However, i words such as it is, do not, orletusmake a sentence sti, overly ormal, or difcult to read, it may be appropri-ate to substitute its,dont,orlets. Used in moderation, contractions can bean eective tool.

Avoid nonstandard contractions. The frst example below is conusing because

most readers will anticipate thatdogsis being used in the possessive senseand will be expecting you to say something about the dogs injured nose, paw,or whatever.

Conusing: The dogsinjured.Clear: The dog isinjured.

a special publication from Firebelle Productions

ContractionsVersus

Possessive Pronounsavoiding a common conusion

Mostcontractions

are ormed bycondensing twowords into one.

Youve had toomuch to drink.You shouldnt

be driving.

Well takeyou home.


2/4

Contractions Versus Possessive Pronouns 2 2000 Firebelle Productions

What Are Possessive Nouns and Pronouns?

Anounis a word that names a person, place, thing, quality, or idea. There areseveral types o nouns. Acommon noun, or example, names ageneralperson,place, thing, quality or idea, while aproper nounnames aspecifcperson,

place, or thing. Possessive nounsindicate ownership or possession.

Common Noun: Nancy spotted the suspect.Possessive Noun: Nancy spotted the suspectscar.

Proper Noun: Nancy spotted Roy.Possessive Noun: Nancy spotted Royscar.

Apronoun is a word that in most cases can be used in place o a noun.Possessive pronouns, like possessive nouns, show ownership or possession.

Pronoun: Nancy spotted him.Possessive Pronoun: Nancy spotted hiscar.

How Can I Distinguish Between Contractionsand Possessive Pronouns?

Possessive nounsare ormed by adding sto the original noun, as shown in thefrst two sets o examples above (suspectscar, Royscar). Possessivepronouns,on the other hand, show possession already, without the addition o anythingelse (hiscar, hercar, mycar).

Four possessive pronouns are particularly troublesome because their theyreoten conused with contractions that sound alike and have similar spellings.

Possessive Pronoun Contractionits itstheir theyre

whose whosyour youre

Itsand itsare the most conusing pair because they contain exactly the sameletters. And while adding susually indicates the possessive orm o a word,the opposite is true with the word it. Itsis the possessive orm oit, whereasitsis the contraction oit is. One o the most requent mistakes made in writ-ing is to conuse itsoritsand vice versa. However, its its easy to determinewhich word is correct by substituting it isinto your sentence. Iit ismakessense, use its. I not, use its.

Possessive: The car landed on itsroo.Contraction:Its(it is) going to be difcult to extricate her.

You can use the substitution test with the other words as well. Use theyreiyou can substitute they are, whosi you can substitute who is, and yourei you can substitute you are. I you cant make the substitution, use the pos-sessive pronoun.

Itsis thecontraction

oit is.

Its (it is) goingto be difcult

to extricate thevictim.

One o themost common

mistakes writersmake is toconuse its

and its.

Itsis the

possessive orm.

The car landedon its roo.


3/4

Contractions Versus Possessive Pronouns 2000 Firebelle Productions

A simple

substitution testreveals whether touse a contraction

or a possessivepronoun.

Their (theyare) child was

abducted.

The other word that deserves a brie mention is theresince it is sometimesconused with their and theyre. Thereis a word sometimes used to introducethe subject o a sentence: There is an accident up ahead. Thereis neithera contraction nor a possessive pronoun.

Test Your Knowledge

Circle the correct word in each o the sentences below. Check your answers onthe ollowing page.

Example: The car landed on its/its roo.

. Their/there/theyre home was destroyed by fre.

2. Your/youre never going to believe what happened.

. Do you know whose/whos in command?

4. Its/its not too late to stop smoking.

5. Do you know where their/there/theyre going?

6. Have you fnished your/youre report?

7. Whose/whos helmet is this?

8. The dog injured its/its paw.

9. Their/there/theyre were no witnesses to the accident.

0. Well host the drill i its/its all right with everyone.

Theyre (they are)very upset.


4/4

Contractions Versus Possessive Pronouns 4 2000 Firebelle Productions

Check Your Answers

The ollowing are the answers to the quiz on the previous page.

. their

2. youre. whos4. its5. theyre6. your7. whose8. its9. there0. its

For More Inormation

This newsletter is adapted rom Chapter 2 oTake Command o Your Writingby Jill Meryl Levy. Take Command o Your Writingis the frst comprehensiveguide to more eective writing geared specifcally or emergency services per-sonnel. It is an essential resource or anyone who wants to present ideas moreeectively, write more accurate reports, and create more readable and user-riendly documents o any kind. It is also an excellent tool or anyone who wantsto place higher on promotional exams requiring any kind o writing exercise.

For more inormation, call Firebelle Productions or check out our web site.

Firebelle ProductionsPost Ofce Box 0848, Campbell, Caliornia 950-0848

Phone: (800) 477-75 or (408) 866-208(phone ater 8:0 a.m. Caliornia time please)

Fax: (408) 866-608

www.frebelleproductions.com

While adding susually indicates

the possessiveorm o a word . . .

. . . it is notappropriate

with possessivepronouns.

S

Documents

Contractions Pronouns