No, You DON’T Have To Avoid Contractions

Has a teacher ever told you that you should never use contractions in formal or professional writing? Maybe you got an essay back with all the don’ts and I’ms scribbled out and replaced with do nots and I ams. I’ve certainly been a victim of contraction shaming, so imagine my surprise when I learned that the whole rule of “no contractions” is 90% FALSE!

What Is a Contraction?

Put simply, a contraction is a shortened form of one or two words with an apostrophe used to mark the place of missing letters.

don’t (contraction for “do not”)

can’t (contraction for “cannot”)

she’s (contraction for “she is”)

I’m (contraction for “I am”)

Don’t Confuse It With Possession!

Be careful not to mix up contractions with possession! Apostrophes are used to mark both uses, so sometimes it can be confusing. In some cases, you must rely on context to know whether an apostrophe means possession or contraction.

Billy’s balloon (POSSESSION: the balloon belonging to Billy)

Billy’s not going to be at school today (CONTRACTION: “Billy’s” is a contraction for “Billy is”)

The noun that really trips people up when it comes to contraction vs. possession is it. However, the rule is simple: It’s is ALWAYS a contraction for “it is,” and its is ALWAYS the possessive form of “it.”

It’s time to go to school.

Its time to go to school.

I bought a new book! It’s title is The Green Mile.

I bought a new book! Its title is The Green Mile.

Learn more about “its” and “it’s” here!

Why Are People Scared of Contractions?

Obviously, we use contractions all the time in informal writing and speech. I can’t imagine texting someone, “Sorry, I cannot come because I am busy,” rather than “Sorry, I can’t come ’cause I’m busy.”

Texts and casual conversation are one thing, but it seems like people are almost afraid to use contractions in any kind of formal writing. However, that wasn’t always the case. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage says that “contractions became unfashionable in the 18th century and continued so until the early 20th century at least.”

So somebody in the 18th century decided that it wasn’t OK to use can’t, won’t, etc. anymore, and everyone just believed them! Now, more than 200 years later, we’re still unsure of when we’re allowed to shorten words into contractions.

90% of the Time, Contractions Are OK

Let me ease your conscience a little bit: The vast majority of the time, it’s TOTALLY FINE to use contractions in your writing, even in academic and professional documents.

Most style guides and writing handbooks now recommend using at least some contractions in order to avoid sounding stilted and stuffy. After all, we SPEAK with contractions all the time, so it only makes sense that we should write with them as well.

Using contractions in your writing can make you sound more accessible and friendly to your readers. The Chicago Manual of Style states, “Most types of writing benefit from the use of contractions. If used thoughtfully, contractions in prose sound natural and relaxed and make reading more enjoyable.”

Amy Einsohn agrees in The Copyeditor’s Handbook: “Some publishers and writers insist that contractions have no place in formal writing, but many publishers have dropped or loosened the ban.”

In fact, there are a few cases when NOT using a contraction sounds REALLY weird. Check out this sentence:

We humans are responsible for taking good care of the planet, are we not?

That last question—”are we not?”—sounds like something you’d hear in a period drama TV show. It sounds so much more natural to use a contraction there instead:

We humans are responsible for taking good care of the planet, aren’t we?

In most written documents, contractions are totally fine. Whether you’re writing an email or report for work, a short story, an essay, or a social media post, feel free to sprinkle in apostrophes to your heart’s content.

The Other 10%…

There may still be some situations in which you should avoid using contractions. For example, if you’re taking a college class and your professor has explicitly forbidden the use of contractions, you’ll probably have to ditch those apostrophes and just embrace the stuffy, formal tone for the semester.

Some schools and universities still ask their students to avoid using contractions in research papers and serious academic works because they think that contractions “detract from a professional tone in scholarly writing” (APA style book).

But even the APA style guide, which says academic authors should “avoid using contractions,” notes that there are some exceptions to the “no contractions” rule:

• When reproducing a direct quotation that contains a contraction
• When referring to a contraction as a linguistic example
• When referring to an idiom or common saying that contains a contraction.

Even in a serious academic paper, contractions might still be appropriate. The most important thing is to think about the tone you’re trying to convey and consider whether the words you choose are helping you achieve that.

If I’ve learned anything from studying grammar, it’s that you can almost always break a rule if you (1) know the rule and know why it exists and (2) have a good, deliberate reason for breaking it.

Certain Contractions Should ALWAYS Be Avoided

I’ll be honest—you’ll know which contractions you should avoid using because they’ll look awkward or strange.

For example, it’s probably best to avoid using oughtn’t as a shortened version of ought not, because oughtn’t just looks odd. (Plus, if you’re tossing out words like ought, you’re definitely using a formal tone, so taking it a step further by getting rid of the contraction won’t do any damage.)

Double contractions like I’d’ve (“I would have”) can also look awkward since there are so many apostrophes. You might be better off simplifying it to just one contraction, like I’d have or I would’ve.

I’d’ve helped if I knew they needed me!

I’d have helped if I knew they needed me!

I would’ve helped if I knew they needed me!

Remember that some contractions have more than one meaning! For example, there’s could mean there is or there has. She’d could mean she had or she would. Make sure that your meaning is clear from the context.

The #1 Rule: Audience Awareness

Ultimately, your #1 goal as a writer is to communicate effectively with your audience. When deciding whether to use contractions, think about who you’re writing to and what you want your relationship with them to be.

Contractions represent real, actual speech, so if you want to sound approachable and familiar to your audience, you should use contractions in your writing. If you want to maintain a distance from your audience, keep the formal tone by removing the contractions.

The use of contractions isn’t really a “yes or no” issue: it’s a stylistic and rhetorical choice. When you understand the effect that contractions have on your writing, you can decide whether you do or don’t want to include them!

Sources:

• American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 7th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2020.
• The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2017.
• Ebbitt, D. R., and W. R. Ebbitt. Index to English. 8th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
• Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook. 3rd ed. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: Univ of California Pr, 2011.
• Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage. 14th ed. Taunton, MA: QuadGraphics, 2016.