Spanish Contractions

Negative Contractions

• In Spanish, negative contractions are formed by combining the negation "no" with a verb or a pronoun.
• Examples:
  • no + soy (I am not) -> no soy
  • no + tiene (he/she/it has not) -> no tiene
  • no + hay (there is not) -> no hay

Formal and Informal Contractions

• Formal contractions are used when speaking to someone who is not a friend or family member, or when writing formally.
• Informal contractions are used with friends and family.
• Formal contractions:
  • de + usted (of you) -> de Ud.
  • lo + usted (it + you) -> lo Ud.
• Informal contractions:
  • de + él/ella/usted (of him/her/you) -> de él/de ella/de ti
  • lo + él/ella/usted (it + him/her/you) -> lo él/lo ella/lo ti

Contraction Rules

• Contractions are formed by combining two words that begin with a vowel.
• The words must be adjacent to each other in the sentence.
• The contraction is formed by replacing the space between the two words with an apostrophe.
• Examples:
  • de + el (of the) -> del
  • a + el (to the) -> al
  • que + él/ella/usted (that he/she/you) -> que él/que ella/que ti

Common Contractions

• del (de + el)
• al (a + el)
• que (que + él/ella/usted)
• de (de + Ud./él/ella/usted)
• lo (lo + él/ella/usted)
• no (no + soy/tiene/hay)
• conmigo (con + mí)
• contigo (con + ti)
• consigo (con + sí)

Exceptions to Contractions

• Contractions are not used in some cases, such as:
  • When the first word is a preposition that ends in a vowel (e.g. "en" or "con").
  • When the second word is a verb that begins with a vowel (e.g. "estar" or "ir").
  • When the contraction would create a word that is difficult to pronounce or understand.
  • When the sentence is in the imperative mood (commands).