Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Contractions


schoolmarm
Today you have the special joy of a spelling lesson. I'm going to teach you about a few simple contractions:
It's - this is short for "it is" as in:
It's really hot outside!
If you should find yourself in the quandary of "Do I use an apostrophe or not?" then ask yourself: "Am I trying to say "it is"?


Should've/Could've/Would've - these are short for "should have/could have/would have". You should never ever say "should of", "could of", or "would of". Those don't make sense because they're incorrect. What you should be saying is:
I should've asked the grammar marm.
I could've washed the car, but I watched some great Youtube videos instead.
I would've removed the spinach from my teeth if you would've told me about it!

You're - this is short for "You are". This is very important. You absolutely must understand the difference between "you are" and "your". Totally different.
You're the smartest man I know!
Is this your pocket protector?

I hope this radically changes your life as I know it will.

1 comment:

Jamie Wooddell said...

You just made Mom's heart sing!
Now can you cover the uses for then and than for those who don't know?