Second Grade English: Contraction Spelling Rules & Avoiding Common Traps
Contractions are fast, friendly words that make spoken and written dialogue sound natural and energetic. However, when it comes to spelling contractions on paper, young writers frequently stumble into confusing traps. Where does the apostrophe go? Which letters are removed? What happens when a contraction sounds identical to a possessive pronoun? In this chapter, you will master the systematic spelling patterns of all major contraction families, learn the precise placement of the apostrophe, and conquer common homophone traps like it's/its, you're/your, and they're/their.
The Golden Law of Apostrophe Placement
The number one spelling rule for contractions is: The apostrophe goes in the exact spot where letters were removed!
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| APOSTROPHE PLACEMENT BLUEPRINT |
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| |
| INCORRECT PLACEMENT: do'nt (Apostrophe between words) |
| CORRECT PLACEMENT: don't (Apostrophe replaces the 'o') |
| |
| INCORRECT PLACEMENT: ca'nt (Apostrophe in wrong spot) |
| CORRECT PLACEMENT: can't (Apostrophe replaces 'no') |
| |
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Checking Your Work
Whenever you write a contraction, put your pencil tip on the apostrophe and ask: "What letters did my apostrophe kick out?" In is-n-[']-t, the apostrophe kicked out the letter o from not. In I-[']-m, the apostrophe kicked out the letter a from am. In we-[']-ll, the apostrophe kicked out the letters wi from will.
Major Contraction Spelling Families
Let us review the exact spelling formulas for each family of contractions.
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| CONTRACTION SPELLING DIRECTORY |
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| Family | Missing Letters | Formula & Examples |
+-----------+-----------------+-----------------------------------+
| NOT | Drops the 'o' | Base + n't |
| | | isn't, aren't, wasn't, couldn't |
| IS | Drops the 'i' | Base + 's |
| | | he's, she's, it's, that's, what's |
| ARE | Drops the 'a' | Base + 're |
| | | you're, we're, they're |
| WILL | Drops 'wi' | Base + 'll |
| | | I'll, you'll, he'll, she'll, we'll|
| HAVE | Drops 'ha' | Base + 've |
| | | I've, you've, we've, they've |
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Conquering the Big Three Homophone Traps
These three contraction pairs sound identical to possessive pronouns. Use the "Two-Word Substitution Test" to spell them correctly every time!
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| TWO-WORD SUBSTITUTION TEST |
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| 1. IT'S vs. ITS |
| - IT'S has an apostrophe -> Squeeze for "IT IS" |
| - ITS has no apostrophe -> Possessive (owns something) |
| Test: "The cat licked (its / it's) paws." |
| Does "The cat licked IT IS paws" make sense? NO! Use ITS! |
| |
| 2. YOU'RE vs. YOUR |
| - YOU'RE has apostrophe -> Squeeze for "YOU ARE" |
| - YOUR has no apostrophe -> Possessive (your book) |
| Test: "(Your / You're) my best friend." |
| Does "YOU ARE my best friend" make sense? YES! Use YOU'RE! |
| |
| 3. THEY'RE vs. THEIR vs. THERE |
| - THEY'RE = "THEY ARE" |
| - THEIR = Shows ownership (their bikes) |
| - THERE = Shows place (over there) |
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Practice Exercises
Exercise 1: Write the correctly spelled contraction for each word pair, making sure the apostrophe is in the exact right place: would not, they will, we have, who is, do not.
Exercise 2: Choose the correct word in parentheses: "(Your / You're) going to love (your / you're) new book!"
Exercise Solutions
Solution to Exercise 1: The contractions are: wouldn't (would not), they'll (they will), we've (we have), who's (who is), and don't (do not).
Solution to Exercise 2: The correct choices are: "You're going to love (contraction for You are) your new book (possessive pronoun showing ownership)!"