# What's the deal with contractions?



## Tiarhlu (Oct 15, 2008)

Is there an official rule about using them? I've had many writing intensive college classes, and in every single one, my teacher had a hissy fit about using contractions. I believe the reasoning was that it makes the writing stronger if you write out the words instead. I've since gone out of my way to avoid them in stories, unless it's in dialogue. 

However, I see it constantly in stories here on FA, and elsewhere. I've brought it up to a few people and they said they haven't heard of that. So what's the word on contractions? Do I really need to leave them out?


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## Xipoid (Oct 15, 2008)

Tiarhlu said:


> Is there an official rule about using them? I've had many writing intensive college classes, and in every single one, my teacher had a hissy fit about using contractions. I believe the reasoning was that it makes the writing stronger if you write out the words instead. *I've since gone out of my way to avoid them in stories, unless it's in dialogue*.
> 
> However, I see it constantly in stories here on FA, and elsewhere. I've brought it up to a few people and they said they haven't heard of that. So what's the word on contractions? Do I really need to leave them out?




I attempt the same thing.

Really, it would seem that you should use contractions only in informal cases as they themselves are informal. Writing a paper, story, or novel could be formal enough to omit their use, but I have never heard anything on the subject.


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## GraemeLion (Oct 15, 2008)

Most stories here on FA are somewhat, well, under-edited.  It is one thing to write here, and it is something completely different to write as a professional.  I would strive for the latter, myself.


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## M. LeRenard (Oct 16, 2008)

It's a style thing.  I write like I talk, which is to say with tons of contractions; I'd feel like an idiot writing out every 'it is' or 'they are' or what have you.  And actually, the only times I do use the separated form is for emphasis, so contractions in my style are actually somewhat necessary for a certain effect.  The difference between "It's not that," and "It is not that!"
So as far as making your writing stronger, then, it depends on how you write.  In other words, if separating words feels too stuffy to you, use contractions.  Modern writing is all about knowing when to break rules, after all.  And *that's* all *I've* to say about that.


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## TShaw (Oct 16, 2008)

Tiarhlu said:


> Is there an official rule about using them? I've had many writing intensive college classes, and in every single one, my teacher had a hissy fit about using contractions. I believe the reasoning was that it makes the writing stronger if you write out the words instead. I've since gone out of my way to avoid them in stories, unless it's in dialogue.
> 
> However, I see it constantly in stories here on FA, and elsewhere. I've brought it up to a few people and they said they haven't heard of that. So what's the word on contractions? Do I really need to leave them out?





The use of contractions used here is about typical. Not too much to become a distraction and enough not to sound â€˜overly literaryâ€™. Most writers here need to focus more on other points of mechanics anyway.


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## Shouden (Oct 16, 2008)

When I am writing wolves, I usually don't use contractions for them to make them a little more character. (someone complained about this in one of the stories I submitted for a contest thingy once. Apparently, they didn't understand what I was trying to do.) I also don't use them for wolves because I always have them see them as "too human" or "too lazy." Almost as a part of a weird religion or something. Anyways, I don't see a problem with using contractions. Some phrases and characters will seem a little robotic if no one in the story uses them and if you are writing from a First Person POV, then you should be have their style of writing match their dialogue.

Personally, I have gotten use to not using contractions in writing or in speaking very often anymore, and have had to add some in to make the story flow better.


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## Nylak (Oct 16, 2008)

Honestly, I believe it depends on your style.  When I write, I usually compose as if I'm speaking casually; it just doesn't flow and sound natural if I don't.  I often find myself writing research papers for my classes and submitting formal labwork for review and formal publication, and even in these I rarely edit myself, and I have yet to have a professor or superior even comment on it...but this may be because I work in a field composed of scientists and agriculturalists rather than those that specialize in grammar and literature.  In the end, I think it boils down to compromise; don't make it sound so rigid or casual that it distracts from the material.

Don't take anything I've said seriously to heart, though.  I've never taken any writing intensive classes outside of a single class my freshman year in university, so my experience is completely restricted to experience gained from my casual scribbles to research papers and publications, neither of which seem particularly grammatically particular when compared to literary work.


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## Anbessa (Oct 16, 2008)

I would say, balance it out. maybe take a text by a serous journalist of your choice who adresses a serious topic and try see how many contractions s/he uses. your arguments are right, but a normal, casual text like a short novel might sound too sober without everyday figures-of-speech. especially in dialogues.


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## Poetigress (Oct 16, 2008)

The "rule" about contractions applies to formal writing -- which is to say, academic writing, medical reports, things like that.

Novels, short stories, and other works are creative writing.  Use as many contractions as you deem necessary, keeping in mind that when you don't use them, it makes the narration or dialogue sound more formal.  This can be good if that's what you're going for -- if that tone suits the story.  If you're writing something set in the present day, though, you'll probably want it to sound as modern and natural as possible, and not using contractions in that case would likely leave both your writing and your characters sounding stiff and awkward.



redcard said:


> It is one thing to write here, and it is something completely different to write as a professional.  I would strive for the latter, myself.



One can't do both?


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## Tiarhlu (Oct 16, 2008)

So what y'all are saying is, it's okay. I think that I've been doing it my way for so long (i.e. contractions only in speech) that changing it would look and feel awkward. It's nice to know I'm not upsetting the literary gods though.


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## GraemeLion (Oct 16, 2008)

Poetigress said:


> One can't do both?



Of course you can  

But you know what I'm talking about  

You're a wonderful exception.


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## kitreshawn (Oct 16, 2008)

Contractions are a strange thing when it comes to writing, but the general guidelines I was taught were:

-The most common contractions (don't, aren't, I'm, you're and maybe a couple others I cannot think of atm) are fine in any writing.

-Contractions of any type are OK in dialogue IF it is something that character would say.

-Outside dialogue contractions of any type are fine depending on the 'voice' of the narrator and even then only if you remain consistent (don't switch back and forth between would've and would have for example).

-Keep in mind that as the number of contractions goes up the less intelligent (perhaps educated is a better word) the work will sound.  That means you should avoid it if the narrator (or character) is supposed to be highly educated or smart.


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## M. LeRenard (Oct 16, 2008)

> -Keep in mind that as the number of contractions goes up the less intelligent (perhaps educated is a better word) the work will sound. That means you should avoid it if the narrator (or character) is supposed to be highly educated or smart.


See now, I really don't agree with this kind of sentiment.  In English, we use contractions; plain and simple.  If you started walking around saying things like, "It is a lovely day, is it not?" people are either going to think you're some kind of robot or a poor high-society British sap who got stuck somehow in this century where he doesn't belong.  As for writing, you can still write an intelligent piece and use contractions: just look at articles in the New Yorker, for example (especially the rant-like editorials you can often find).
So I don't think 'intelligent' (or 'educated') is the word you want here.  In French, you call this kind of thing _le registre de la langue_, or the kind of language you use under various circumstances.  You don't cuss and use slang while giving a speech on the nature of subsistence agriculture in early Polynesian island societies to a panel of Mensa members, but you would giving the same presentation to your friends (if you were so inclined to do that).  It's exactly the same thing in this case.  Your narrator's intelligence and education ought to be coming more from *what* he says rather than *how* he says it, right?  One would hope.


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## TakeWalker (Oct 16, 2008)

M. Le Renard said:


> See now, I really don't agree with this kind of sentiment.  In English, we use contractions; plain and simple.  If you started walking around saying things like, "It is a lovely day, is it not?" people are either going to think you're some kind of robot or a poor high-society British sap who got stuck somehow in this century where he doesn't belong.  As for writing, you can still write an intelligent piece and use contractions: just look at articles in the New Yorker, for example (especially the rant-like editorials you can often find).
> So I don't think 'intelligent' (or 'educated') is the word you want here.  In French, you call this kind of thing _le registre de la langue_, or the kind of language you use under various circumstances.  You don't cuss and use slang while giving a speech on the nature of subsistence agriculture in early Polynesian island societies to a panel of Mensa members, but you would giving the same presentation to your friends (if you were so inclined to do that).  It's exactly the same thing in this case.  Your narrator's intelligence and education ought to be coming more from *what* he says rather than *how* he says it, right?  One would hope.



In English (in linguistics, at least), that's called register. It's not a matter of intellectuality, but appropriateness for a given context/audience. Contractions are generally indicators of informality in writing, pure and simple, which is why they're 100% okay in speech.

Basically, all that needs to be said on this topic, Poey said.


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## kitreshawn (Oct 17, 2008)

M. Le Renard said:


> See now, I really don't agree with this kind of sentiment.  In English, we use contractions; plain and simple.  If you started walking around saying things like, "It is a lovely day, is it not?" people are either going to think you're some kind of robot or a poor high-society British sap who got stuck somehow in this century where he doesn't belong.  As for writing, you can still write an intelligent piece and use contractions: just look at articles in the New Yorker, for example (especially the rant-like editorials you can often find).
> So I don't think 'intelligent' (or 'educated') is the word you want here.  In French, you call this kind of thing _le registre de la langue_, or the kind of language you use under various circumstances.  You don't cuss and use slang while giving a speech on the nature of subsistence agriculture in early Polynesian island societies to a panel of Mensa members, but you would giving the same presentation to your friends (if you were so inclined to do that).  It's exactly the same thing in this case.  Your narrator's intelligence and education ought to be coming more from *what* he says rather than *how* he says it, right?  One would hope.




You are correct that using contractions does not make someone smarter or dumber, or more or less educated.  100%.  However there is a perception and unfortunately with humans perception wins out 9 times out of 10.  When you use contractions, especially excessively, the perception is a lower intelligence or lower education level.  I am also tempted to say that back when I was in college taking psych courses a few years ago that this effect was brought up once or twice, though I cannot recall if any research had actually been done on it.

What I can tell you is that we did have to do an 'experiment' where we would consciously avoid the use of contractions for a full two weeks.  Starts out very hard but after a few days you get the hang of it.  You also start to notice people take what you say more seriously and are more likely to take any advice you give.  You could put that down to many things, but personally I think it is because you sound smarter and are therefor more of an authority (regardless of any knowledge) simply because your speech sounds so much more precise.


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## M. LeRenard (Oct 17, 2008)

If there's no study this is based on, it's probably just conventional wisdom, which is why I'm skeptical.


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## Poetigress (Oct 17, 2008)

kitreshawn said:


> You are correct that using contractions does not make someone smarter or dumber, or more or less educated.  100%.  However there is a perception and unfortunately with humans perception wins out 9 times out of 10.  When you use contractions, especially excessively, the perception is a lower intelligence or lower education level.  I am also tempted to say that back when I was in college taking psych courses a few years ago that this effect was brought up once or twice, though I cannot recall if any research had actually been done on it.
> 
> What I can tell you is that we did have to do an 'experiment' where we would consciously avoid the use of contractions for a full two weeks.  Starts out very hard but after a few days you get the hang of it.  You also start to notice people take what you say more seriously and are more likely to take any advice you give.  You could put that down to many things, but personally I think it is because you sound smarter and are therefor more of an authority (regardless of any knowledge) simply because your speech sounds so much more precise.




That's interesting from a psychological perspective, but I don't really see how it applies to one's writing.

In terms of a character's dialogue, I don't think it would make them necessarily sound more educated -- simply more formal, as I think MLR was saying.  In some cases, I can even see where not using contractions would make someone sound _less_ educated by slowing down their speech and making each word more deliberate.  I could also see where dropping contractions could make a character sound as if English weren't their first language.  And I've found that when some people are angry, they'll drop contractions to sound more emphatic or pronounced, particularly in written communication.  In terms of intelligence, the fact remains that plenty of very intelligent people speak in very casual, "normal" ways, so if you want a character to sound intelligent, having them not use contractions isn't necessarily going to do the trick in a believable, readable way.

And in terms of narration, here again, you're dealing with how formal you want the text to feel.  Are you writing a parody of a research paper?  An excerpt from an ancient text?  In those cases, you might want to leave the contractions out to suit the tone, mood, and style of the story.  But if you're writing something set present-day, describing your character getting a lattÃ© at Starbucks, that same formal tone might feel out of place, and might unintentionally come across as comic or amateurish.


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## foozzzball (Oct 17, 2008)

It's got nothing to do with intelligence and everything to do with sociocultural background... which is tied heavily with where you go to school. I'm guessing it's stereotypically linked with people who went through enunciation classes and other such futzery to sound 'upper class' in the UK, since you couldn't make it in any profession without a recieved pronunciation accent. ... Of course this hasn't been true for ages, but the stereotype lingers on?


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## kitreshawn (Oct 17, 2008)

foozzzball said:


> It's got nothing to do with intelligence and everything to do with sociocultural background... which is tied heavily with where you go to school. I'm guessing it's stereotypically linked with people who went through enunciation classes and other such futzery to sound 'upper class' in the UK, since you couldn't make it in any profession without a recieved pronunciation accent. ... Of course this hasn't been true for ages, but the stereotype lingers on?



That makes as much sense as about any reason.  Honestly cultural memory is probably the most likely reason if there really is one.  In addition to well educated people going to enunciation classes in the UK you could also look to the way poorly educated people have traditionally talked in the US and other cultures.  The way you talk is much more based on location (deep south rural, slums, or so forth) which may have strange pronunciation or contractions that they use but many such places also have a poor education system for one reason or another.  Thus people who talk a certain way are viewed as undereducated or dumb simply because many people who talk that way are or were at some point in time undereducated.

The converse of this is that the further you stay away from such dialects the more intelligent you may sound just as a consequence even if you happen to be a blithering idiot.  Even if the reasons for such a bias no longer exist cultural memory is very long and very strong.


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## M. LeRenard (Oct 17, 2008)

Yeah.. I can see what you mean, but simply using contractions in the first place doesn't have anything to do with dialect, really.  Most high society Americans these days talk like Midwesterners, what's considered 'unaccented' American English, and which is littered with contractions.  Dialects involve contractions too, but also chopping off word-endings, certain letters, a kind of accent... it's those things that hold the stereotype, and not the contractions themselves.
Anyway, maybe this conversation is getting a little overly analytical.  The point is, use contractions when you feel you must.


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