Does your child know what a contraction is? I went to school in Albany, New York, and I learned about these in elementary school. Wow, that was many years ago! I’ve (I have) set forth several contractions below for examples with the combined two words in parentheses.
I think it’s (it is) so important to have good writing skills so this is a great concept to have your child master. It’s (it is) really easy to understand. A contraction is simply a word that contains an apostrophe that has combined two words together. There are a few contractions that are misused a lot. Who’s (who is) ready to learn the difference? Notice I didn’t (did not) say “whose.” To distinguish whether or not you should use a contraction, simply ask yourself if you’re (you are) combining two words. Who is ready to learn? You are combining two words! See, it is really easy!
“Its,” “whose,” and “your” are all pronouns that reflect the possessive nature of their base words — it, who, and you. They do not combine two words together and that’s (that is) why they don’t (do not) contain an apostrophe. Whose book is that? Notice it wouldn’t (would not) make sense to say “who’s” book is that because you’re (you are) not saying “who is” book is that? So to decide if you should use a contraction or not, simply ask yourself if you’re (you are) — not “your” — combining two words.
Understanding contractions is a little tricky at first but it’s (it is) well worth the effort to tackle its (possessive pronoun) challenge and work toward mastering solid and proficient writing skills!
