6 Minute Vocabulary: Contractions

Dec 082014

When you’re talking about your life experiences, are you going to pronounce every single word in a sentence like I have run a marathon? Well, if you want to sound fluent and natural when you speak, you’re more likely to say I’ve run a marathon. I and have change to the shorter form I’ve – this is an example of a contraction.

_______Show Transcript______

Finn
Hello and welcome to this episode of 6 Minute Vocabulary. I’m Finn…

Feifei
…and I’m Feifei. Hi!

Finn
Today we’re going to be talking about contractions, like I’ve meaning I have, or isn’t meaning is not. We’re going to talk about what these contractions mean, and how to pronounce them.

Feifei
That’s right, and learning to use contractions like I’ve or isn’t when you’re speaking will make your English sound much more fluent and natural.

Finn
And that’s got to be good news. As usual, we’ll have lots of examples…

Feifei
There’ll be a short quiz…

Finn
And finally we’ll give you a tip to help you with your vocabulary studies.

Feifei
So, let’s start with an example. Listen to Bill talking about his wife and his brother.

Finn
While you’re listening, try to answer this question: has Bill’s brother ever visited the US?

INSERT
Bill
My wife and I live in London. We’ve been married for about five years. I’ve always lived in London, but she’s lived in Germany, and the US, and lots of different places. I’ve never been to the US, but my brother’s been there many times, because his wife is from New York.

Finn
So, Feifei asked you: has Bill’s brother ever visited the US?

Feifei
And the answer is yes, Bill’s brother has been to the US many times, because his wife is American. She’s from New York.

Finn
Did you get the answer right? Of course you did!

Feifei
Ok, now here is another question. How long have Bill and his wife been married? Listen again and check…

INSERT 1 CLIP 1
My wife and I live in London. We’ve been married for about five years.

Feifei
He said ‘We’ve been married for about five years’.

Finn
Did you notice that he didn’t say we have been, he said we’ve been? When we’re speaking, we often shorten the word have, and just say -ve instead.

Feifei
So I have becomes I’ve, you have becomes you’ve, we have becomes we’ve and they have becomes they’ve.

Finn
We use contractions like we’ve a lot when we’re speaking, but sometimes we write them, too – especially when we’re writing something informal or unofficial, like an email or a postcard.

Feifei
Now, when you’re writing contractions, remember to use an apostrophe. So, for example, we’ve is spelled w – e – apostrophe – v – e.

Finn
The apostrophe shows that a letter, or more than one, is missing.

Feifei
That’s right, so when we write we’ve instead of we have, we miss the letters h and a from the word ‘have’. And the apostrophe shows that these letters have been skipped.

Finn
Right, ok. Here’s another question about Bill. How many different places has his wife lived in? Can you remember? Here’s a clip.

INSERT 1 CLIP 2
Bill
I’ve always lived in London, but she’s lived in Germany, and the US, and lots of different places.

Feifei
He said that she’s lived in lots of different places. And he mentioned two of them: Germany, and the US.

Finn
Did you notice another contraction there? Bill said she’s lived. It’s the short form of she has lived. She’s lived.

Feifei
This is a very common one. Instead of has, lots of English speakers say -‘s /z/ instead.

Finn
So instead of he has we say he’s, instead of she has it’s she’s.

Feifei
Again, when you use this –‘s /z/ contraction instead of has when you’re writing, don’t forget to use the apostrophe.

Finn
So, he’s is spelled h – e – apostrophe – s, and she’s is spelled s – h – e – apostrophe – s.

IDENT
You’re listening to BBC Learning English.com

Feifei
And now it’s time for a quiz. Number one. When we’re speaking, we don’t normally say ‘I have lived here for three years’ – what do we say?

Finn
We say, ‘I’ve lived here for three years’.

Feifei
Easy question, right?

Finn
I think so.

Feifei
Here’s another one: Which pronunciation is correct? Is it a) He’s /s/ a teacher or is it b) He’s /z/ a teacher?

Finn
It’s b) He’s /z/ a teacher. And one last question. In the sentence We’ve been listening to 6 Minute Vocabulary, how do you spell we’ve?

Feifei
It’s w – e – apostrophe – v – e.

Finn
That’s it. Before we go, here’s a top tip to help you learn vocabulary.

Feifei
Vocabulary learning isn’t a silent activity! You’ll learn words more effectively if you say them out loud. It doesn’t matter if nobody’s listening – say the words out loud anyway!

Finn
Absolutely. Very good. There’s more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again soon for more 6 Minute Vocabulary. Bye!

Feifei
Bye!