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I was thinking about how "I am" can stand as a sentence but wondered why "I'm" doesn't sound right. I kind of came to the conclusion that noun-verb contractions (ex. I'm, they're, it's, she'll) can't end a sentence and always need something following them.

Here's an example:

I don't know what it is. <- sounds fine

I don't know what it's. <- what?

I don't know what it is for. <- fine

I don't know what it's for. <- also fine

So, is there a formal English rule that restricts how contractions can be used?

Catherine Liu
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  • Generally speaking, you can't use a contraction if it's the only thing that appears in a sentence or it's the final word in a sentence. In other words, something should always follow a contraction. At least I think that's accurate. – Jason Bassford Mar 10 '19 at 01:00
  • Contractions are used to reproduce speech. You wouldn't speak the words "I don't know what it's" (unless you intended to confuse your listener). – Hot Licks Mar 10 '19 at 01:49
  • @JasonBassford I don't know why you'd say that you can't. Nor can I imagine why I wouldn't. – R Mac Mar 10 '19 at 02:00
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    @RMac LOL. Touche. I did say generally, so at least I have that escape clause. It's a good thing it was only a comment and not an answer! ;) – Jason Bassford Mar 10 '19 at 02:04
  • In formal English, you shouldn't use contractions at all. They're an element of casual language, as noted by @HotLicks. There's no real reason the words "I am" can stand as a sentence but the contraction "I'm" can't. The only apparent explanation is convention; that is, it's just how we English speakers do. – R Mac Mar 10 '19 at 02:05
  • @RMac - Precisely! Contractions should be used to reproduce speech. They should not be used when it wouldn't be idiomatic to speak the resulting text. – Hot Licks Mar 10 '19 at 02:30
  • Stressed vowels can't be lost. The last word in a sentence generally has the strongest stress in English Therefore, you usually can't contract by deleting the vowel of the last word, because it will be stressed. – Greg Lee Mar 10 '19 at 03:52

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