Abbreviations
Hi,
This is probably a silly question, so I apologise beforehand for posting it.
I’m just a bit confused.
“I hope that the fires’ll soon stop and give the animals in Australia a few days of a respite.”
“I heard that in Australia many animals’ve been saved thanks to the efforts of the local people.”
“I’ll call you when I find out more about what our neighbours’ve done.”
In the first sentence, I’d abbreviate ‘will’ to ‘ll’ because the word ‘fire’ is relatively short, but in the second sentence, ‘ve’ looks a bit odd and I’d write it out as ‘have’ even in an informal setting. The same goes for the third sentence.
Does it make sense or not?
Do you sometimes abbreviate one word in a sentence while leaving the other the way it is?
“It’s so annoying that you have no idea what your neighbours have been up to recently.”
Something like this.
Thank you.
Top answer
It isn't a silly question at all. Contractions such as "fires’ll", "animals’ve" and "neighbours’ve" are quite commonly used in speech. However, in my opinion they do not look good in writing, not even in informal writing.
- It isn't a silly question at all.
- Contractions such as "fires’ll", "animals’ve" and "neighbours’ve" are quite commonly used in speech.
- However, in my opinion they do not look good in writing, not even in informal writing.
- g.
- in a story, when a particular casual or chatty flavour needs to be conveyed.
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It isn't a silly question at all. Contractions such as "fires’ll", "animals’ve" and "neighbours’ve" are quite commonly used in speech. However, in my opinion they do not look good in writing, not even in informal writing. I would avoid them, with the possible exception of direct (quoted) dialogue, e.g. in a story, when a particular casual or chatty flavour needs to be conveyed.
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