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Po-Sheng
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Posts: 1
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 Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 6:40 am Post subject: I'll or I will |
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Dear teachers:
I'd like to know the deference between "I'll" and "I will", or "he's" and "he is". Is there any kind of situation I must to use "I'll".(or "I will")
Thanks for your help. |
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dragn
Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 450
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| Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I'd like to know the deference between "I'll" and "I will", or "he's" and "he is". Is there any kind of situation I must to use "I'll".(or "I will") |
Well, there's certainly no difference in meaning. These contractions represent the way we normally speak English. In ordinary speech, they are used about 95 percent of the time (I'm guessing, but it must be close to that). They are also commonly used in informal writing (letters, posts to Internet forums, etc.), but their use is discouraged in formal or academic writing.
Grammatically, about the only situation I can think of where you cannot use a contraction is in a positive sentence when there are no words following it. For example:
Q: Will you be at the party Friday night?
Ans: Yes, I'll. (Wrong)
Ans: Yes, I will. (Correct)
This is fine with negative contractions, however:
Q: Will you be at the party Friday night?
Ans: No, I won't. (Correct)
In spoken English, we sometimes choose not to use a contraction when we want to give our words strong emphasis. For example:
Daughter: My boyfriend is going to take me for a drive in the country Friday night.
Mom: Oh, no he is not!
On the other hand, I can't think of any situation where you are actually required to use a contraction, either in spoken or written English.
Hope this helps.
Greg |
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CP
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 2875
Location: California
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| Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 6:14 am Post subject: |
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| dragn wrote: |
On the other hand, I can't think of any situation where you are actually required to use a contraction, either in spoken or written English.
Hope this helps.
Greg |
I just thought of one: Don't you dare!
You can't really say Do not you dare!, even in writing, can you?
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb |
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dragn
Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 450
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| Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 7:54 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I just thought of one: Don't you dare! |
Good one! Thanks, CP. That's right, in regular negative imperatives you can say Don't open the window or Do not open the window. But with the subject you introduced, you are indeed forced to use the contraction. Do not you dare almost sounds like a question (as does Do you not dare). You do not dare conveys a different meaning. You're stuck with Don't you dare. Interesting. 
Greg |
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