Contractions
Contractions help keep things human and conversational. Use them liberally!
Some reminders:
- “It’s” is a contraction of “it is” or “it has.” The possessive form of “it” is “its.”
- The contraction “I’d” can mean “I would” or “I had.” Reserve the apostrophe “d” for contractions of “would.” (Using it for “had” is less common and the meaning could easily get lost.)
- “You’ve got and “we’ve got” are unnecessary. They’re no different than just “have.” Leave “got” out.
- Avoid contractions when trying to emphasize a point. Words that are vital to the message shouldn’t be contracted.
Your invoice is not yet paid. It is due tomorrow.
She’d completed the drill.
Don’t use contractions for the verb “had.”
I haven’t done the drill yet.
Do use contractions to be conversational.
Check out this section for more on the power of the apostrophe.