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Gustavo K Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Articles "the" and "a"

In the sentence 'haven't is a contraction of have not', why is the indefinite article "a" used instead of 'the'? Why not say 'haven't is the contraction of have not'? As far as I know there's only one contraction of have not which is haven't, or is there another?
  

Top answer

Gustavo K In the sentence 'haven't is a contraction of have not', why is the indefinite article "a" used instead of 'the'? Because there is more than one, I suppose. " 've not " is also a contraction of 'have not'.

— Mister Micawber

  • Gustavo K In the sentence 'haven't is a contraction of have not', why is the indefinite article "a" used instead of 'the'?
  • Because there is more than one, I suppose.
  • " 've not " is also a contraction of 'have not'.
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4 Answers
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Gustavo KIn the sentence 'haven't is a contraction of have not', why is the indefinite article "a" used instead of 'the'?
Because there is more than one, I suppose. " 've not " is also a contraction of 'have not'.
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OK, Mister Micawber. So in the sentence I'm late, would I say I'm is "the" contraction of I am since there isn't another possibility?
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Gustavo KSo in the sentence I'm late, would I say I'm is "the" contraction of I am since there isn't another possibility?
Yes, that is a reasonable choice.
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