Welcome to
ESL Printables,
the website where English Language teachers exchange resources:
worksheets, lesson plans, activities, etc.
Our collection is growing every day with the help of many teachers. If
you want to download you have to send your own contributions.
I have a small niggling doubt (as you start to get when marking loads of writing...) I went to bed last night with it niggling at the back of my head....
Here is the sentence:
My mother�s ill and I have to go visit her.
My question is: Can they use the apostrophe here? I would say no... that they have to say My mother is ill.... Although when you say it. It sounds right...
I have always been told that you don�t (do not!) use contractions when you write. However, we see contractions more and more in textbooks. We tend to teach can �t and not cannot now. I don�t (do not! ) know whether this is a good thing...
it is correct!! It is an oral contraction done in writing.
And ONE DOES REALLY USE CONTRACTIONS but only when one is writing very informally or when one is writing a dialogue or a text which establishes some sort of dialogue with its readers.
You see that �s it exactly.... I know its an oral contraction because it �s what we say... it was written though and to my eyes it looked funny... I didn �t mark it wrong because it was an informal piece of writing.... so all is good! I dreamed about it all for nothing!!
Ok... I can relax! I did the right thing yippppppppeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with everyone... especially eng789 - if an apostrophe is the sum of your teaching worries, then you are very lucky!! ... btw, trust wise old George - he will never let you down!!
Btw... my new upload has a short describing activity on the second page! Just to let everybody know... (sorry for the plug! )
We do use more and more contractions, in speaking in particular, because they are more practical... It obviously takes less time and less energy to say contractions, compared to full forms
Thanks everyone... I knew that to say it, it was perfectly fine.. but was unsure about writing it... the fine line between formal and informal writing... the grey area so to speak...
I am like french frog.. I was taught when writing always use the full form... not contracted...(even though in my own writing I only do this for formal things)...
But....... what we do and what is right are two different things. I don �t always agree with watering down a language. Written English is written with no contractions, except if you are directly quoting speech. Also, it �s a question of formal and informal speech. I wouldn �t write my mother �s ill, because kids today are confused enough with the possesive �S already. But I would say it. L
) use contractions when you write. However, we see contractions more and more in textbooks. We tend to teach can �t and not cannot now. I don�t (do not! 
