Negative Contractions
These tables show you all the short forms of auxiliary verbs and modals followed by ’not'.
Auxiliary + not
We can use the present and past form of auxiliary verbs with ’not’ in the short form.
|long form
| short form | |
|---|---|
| have not | haven’t |
| has not | hasn’t |
| is not | isn’t |
| are not | aren’t |
| do not | don’t |
| does not | doesn’t |
Auxiliary + not (present)
There is no short form of ‘am not’.
| long form | short form |
|---|---|
| had not | hadn’t |
| was not | wasn’t |
| were not | weren’t |
| did not | didn’t |
Auxiliary + not (past)
Modal + not
| long form | short form |
|---|---|
| can not | can’t |
| could not | couldn’t |
| shall not | shan’t |
| should not | shouldn’t |
| will not | won’t |
| would not | wouldn’t |
| must not | mustn’t |
| might not | mightn’t |
Modal + not
Is it uncommon to use the short form of ‘may not’.