A1 English Lesson 4: To Be - Contractions (Practice 2)

Language Focus

In spoken and informal English, we usually join the subject and the verb "be" together. This is called a contraction.

Full form	Contraction	Example
I am	I'm	I'm on holiday.
he is / she is / it is	he's / she's / it's	He's my brother. She's a nurse. It's sunny.
you are / we are / they are	you're / we're / they're	You're welcome. We're happy. They're here.

Remember: the apostrophe (') shows where a letter is missing. "I'm" = "I" + "am" with the "a" replaced by an apostrophe. Contractions mean exactly the same as the full form – we just use them more often when speaking or writing informally.

Listening: My New Roommate

Context: talking about moving in with a roommate

Guess what? I'm moving into a new flat next week!

My new roommate's name is Ellie. She's a nursing student.

She's really friendly and tidy.

Our flat is small, but it's near the city centre. It's on the second floor.

Ellie's brother is helping us move. He's got a big van.

Ellie's parents are coming to visit soon. They're very proud of her.

We're both excited about living together.

You're welcome to visit anytime once we're settled in!

Now go to Exercise 1 and answer True or False.

1. True or False

Context: My New Roommate (from the listening)

Listen again if you need to, then choose True or False.

2. Multiple Choice

Context: a wedding

Choose the correct contraction.

3. Matching

Context: full form to contraction

Match each full form to its contraction.

4. Gap Fill

Context: a text message to mum

Complete the text with the correct contraction for the words in brackets.

5. Contraction Sort

Click each contraction, then click the correct group below to sort it.

I'm

he's / she's / it's

you're / we're / they're

6. Word Order

Context: moving house

Click the words in the correct order to build each sentence.

7. Right or Wrong?

Context: a social media caption

Is the contraction spelled right or wrong? Click your answer.

Your Scores

0 / 39

Total points across all exercises

Exercise	Score
1. True or False	0 / 5
2. Multiple Choice	0 / 6
3. Matching	0 / 5
4. Gap Fill	0 / 6
5. Contraction Sort	0 / 7
6. Word Order	0 / 5
7. Right or Wrong	0 / 5