by Brian P. Cleary illustrated by Brian Gable
You’ll find the answer inside You’ll find this book—it’s book—it’s brimming brimming with contractions! Brian P. Cleary’s playful rhymes and Brian Gable’s
S ha n no n d n a , e r la C , y l l To Tresa , Ke . .C. — B P
: n o i t c a r t C o n T w o ( o r ) e e r h t s e s om e t im o t n i d e n i b w o r d s c om u s in g , d r o w e n o e h p o r t s o p a n a
by Brian P. Cleary illustrations by Brian Gable
J MILLBROOK PRESS / MINNEAPOLIS
Contractions
take a couple words or sometimes even three
4
a nd sh rin k th e m i nt o on ly o n e , ” . a e t g n i k a s in “Sh e s d r in ,
’
5
i ” s t h h e “ S c e ’ s
o nt r a c t i o n,
a nd i
t
6
” . s i s h o r te ns u p “ s h
e
e s t wo k a t w I t a
d nd m a s ke s t h e m n e , o r
o
a s in , “ Th at
’ s m i n
e and h i s ”. 7
As punctuation goes, contractions always feature these:
8
t y a e k h e T
s , r e t t h e p o f l t e l a c e e s h . t h p d o e r y ’ r e t a n s o c all e d a p
9
Take a phrase like “does not.”
A contraction makes it “ doesn’t.”
10
” . t o n s a T r y a no th e r : “ W ” . t ’ n s a Y o u c an sh o r te n i t t o “ w
11
ink t h l p l e h s e e w h p o o r r d t s s o A p e p l a c e a t l e a s t o ne l e tt e r r . d n
a
12
n , “ i I ’ m s A v e r y p r o ud t h at I ’ v e e h e p l e d m a k t h i s l o v e y l s w e a t e r ”.
13
e s m i c t o n e t f O
j oi n a
14
nt r a ct i o n s th e r w o
no
r d t o “ n
o t .”
L ik e “ S h o u l
” ? o w
d n’ t it b e c o l d e r n
a nd
t I t ak e y
C a n’
“
o u r s p
o t? ” 15
“I don’t think this shoe is mine.”
” ? d r u s b a t i t
n s I ’
“
16
Al l t h e s e t r n a t w o -w r d p h ra s e i nt o o ne si g l e w o r d . u
o
n
17
c nt r a ct
O th e r time s , o sh o r te n “ a r e ” o r
“ i s ” o r
18
i o ns
“ a m
. ”
As in, “I’m sure you’re hungry,” and “He’s cooking up some h am.”
19
d t h n e a n , w o N s h o r ten no t j
c o nt r a ct i o n s t t w s
u
o
20
. . .
b ut t h r e e w , e l p o m r a d x s e , f r “ I ’ d’ v e t h o ” ! o o z u gh t t h is wa s t h e o
21
“Would” when it’s contracted is reduced to just a “d”
22
r d s w l i ke “ i n I ’ o
d ” a nd “ s h e ’ d ”
y “ s o u’ d ” a l l e w a s name j u st t h r t o
e . e
23
h n i a n e d y m o c n a c ” l e n t e s e r l u i t u f W a s a t i a o n r t . on
“
c
c
24
Shrink “she will” right down to “ she’ll”— it’s smaller by a fraction.
25
d n i f l l ’ u o s y
e m i ” d t a “ e h d n . d m e t a i a v o e r ” b S b e a v n e a e “ h v e b
h a
26
“ e r I ’ ve go t a p u e h L ike p p y ,” “I d b et t e d n r ge t h a :
’
i m c r at
e d .”
27
A r en’ t co
nt r a ct io n s
In
u s e f ul w o
r d s? sp e ch and w r i t i ng , d on e
’ t
have any fear in using them.
(I ’ m gu e s si ng
th at y o u w on
’ t ) ! 29
So what’s a
contraction?
30
Do you know?
31
ABOUT THE AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR BRIAN P. CLEARY is the author of the best-selling Words Are CATegorical ® series as
well as the Math Is CATegorical® , Food Is CATegorical™, Adventures in Memory™, and Sounds Like Reading® series. He has also written The Punctuation Station, The Laugh Stand: Adventures in Humor, and several other books. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio. is the illustrator of many Words Are CATegorical® books and the Math Is CATegorical® series. Mr. Gable also works as a political cartoonist for the Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto, Canada. BRIAN GABLE
Text copyright © 2010 by Brian P. Cleary Illustrations copyright © 2010 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. Millbrook Press A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A. Website address: www.lernerbooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cleary, Brian P., 1959– I’m and won’t, they’re and don’t : what’s a contraction? / by Brian P. Cleary ; illustrated by Brian Gable. p. cm. — (Words are CATegorical) ISBN: 978–0–8225–9155–9 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) 1. English language—Contraction—Juvenile literature. 2. Contraction—Juvenile literature. 3. Language arts (Primary) I. Gable, Brian, 1949– ill. II. Title. PE1161.C54 2010 421'.54—dc22 2009049201 Manufactured in the United States of America 1 – DP – 7/15/10 eISBN: 978-0-7613-6350-7
Brian P. Cleary is the author of the ®
best-selling Words Are CATegorical series as well as the Math Is ® CATegorical , Food Is CATegorical™, Adventures in Memory™, and Sounds Like ® Reading series. He has also written The Punctuation Station, The Laugh Stand: Adventures in Humor, and several other books. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
