By Contractions

Anthon wrote:Hi, can someone check my sentences: 1. Can you not say about him again? Do you mean, "Can you / Can't you please repeat what you said about him?" 2. Have you been trying not to be a cheater? Have/Haven't you been trying not to cheat? 3. Can't you say it all out? Do you...

Well, actually, all of those sentences where "not" is not contracted are not the usual ones. I think native speakers usually say "Why can't I do...?" instead of "Why can I not do...?"That doesn't mean they are wrong or odd, it's just that the forms that are not contracted are more emphatic.I...

Not really a difference. It's essentially an idiomatic suggestion, nowadays. "Let us" would literally translate as "allow us", but it more closely means "we should/should we/how about we/why don't we". Saying "let us" only differs from "let's" in nuance. They mean exactly the same thing. "Let...

Please look at the sets of sentences, especially the last sentence in each set. I understand that all sentences in each set have the same meaning and that sentences with (*) are not grammatical. What I don’t understand is what is happening here? Can you please explain under what conditions...

Hi Cool Breeze, How's and house are different in that how's is a contraction of how and is, two words, and the rule applies at least in theory in such cases. This is exactly the rule I had in mind! What you offered previously simply was not clear enough to the reader. The only pronunciation...

Anonymous wrote:How's is pronounced . Traditionally, the RP pronunciation has been /haʊsIz/, although I suppose some speakers equate the vowel sound with that of 'beat' (half-long) these days. I was trying to be brief and therefore didn't go into details. How's and house are different in that...

It's is a contraction of "it is". The first sentence should read "It's my photo." (singular) These are... I would use if the photos are right in front of me, or if I'm holding them. They are... They is a pronoun. You can only use a pronoun after the noun is named. You could use "Those are my...

"Their" is used as a possessive for "the user" (to avoid gender pronouns like his or hers). "they've": they is a pronoun for "the user" and is a contraction of "they have".

i know everyone is saying ms. but sometimes ma'am is ok depending on how you are writing... its neutral as far as i know... its just a contraction of madaam.... i guess ma'am is more respectful.. so again.. it depends on what ur going 4

I kept trying to turn this into a snippy Algonquin-round-table type remark: "She was a mass of contradictions, many of which are chronicled in her writing." In other words, she's a lousy writer (her writing is full of contradictions), as well as a mess personally But I don't think you can use...