A contraction is simply a shortened (contracted) version of a word and it is common to use contractions in spoken English and in less formal styles of writing. Negative contractions relate to the negative form of a verb. Here are some examples:

aren't --- are not: They aren't going to the party.

can't --- can not: He can't understand you.

couldn't --- could not: He couldn't understand the question.

didn't --- did not: We didn't visit Paris. We travelled to Rome instead.

doesn't --- does not: He doesn't play the piano.

don't --- do not: The children don't like vegetables.

hadn't --- had not: She hadn't been to Paris before.

hasn't --- has not: She hasn't finished the report yet.

isn't --- is not: He isn't listening to the teacher.

mustn't --- must not: Children mustn't run into the road.

needn't --- need not: You needn't finish the report today.

shouldn't --- should not: You shouldn't eat so much chocolate.

wasn't --- was not: I wasn't happy that it rained all day.

weren't --- were not: They weren't invited to the conference.

won't --- will not: I won't be able to attend the meeting.

wouldn't --- would not: She wouldn't be surprised if they showed up at the conference.

Also, questions often use the negative form of a contraction. When we use a negative question, we already suspect that the answer will be No, having first thought that it would be Yes:

Can't you finish the report today? (I think you can)

Didn't you tell them the meeting was at four? (I thought you did)

Won't five o'clock be too late? (I think it will be)

Aren't you going to the meeting? (I thought you were)

Negative contractions are also used a lot in question tags. A tag is used when we expect the person we are talking to to agree with us or confirm that what we are saying is correct. Again, these are more popular in spoken rather than written English:

It's hot today, isn't it?

You were at the meeting, weren't you?

You're Swedish, aren't you?

You can speak French, can't you?

You will drive carefully, won't you?

You have read this article, haven't you?

KJ Hutchings is the founder of KJ Language Services, offering editing, writing and proofreading services and advice on how you can make your English language documents the very best they can be. For more information, visit http://www.kjlanguageservices.com/.