I`ve already been reprimanded for this by a woman on an online dating site, so I suspect the legitimacy of this is questionable for some people. I probably wouldn`t use double contraction if I wrote in a higher register. In fact, the Chicago Manual (Section 5.103) specifically lists her and I as examples of ”less frequent contractions” that are best avoided (except in dialogue). Dick and David: The a in these blues lyrics is absolutely veh. It`s not just a singing habit of this singer; its rather ubiquitous American pronunciation, I think: ”I would have” contracted with ”I would have” in writing, but is pronounced ”Ida” (just like the woman`s name). I could also refer in writing to ”I would have” what would have been pronounced ”I would have”. I wouldn`t have `contracts on `I wouldn`t have` in writing, but I would be pronounced near `wood a` (eliminating both t and v).” I wouldn`t have” can`t merge with *”I wouldn`t have”,although, I don`t think so. Wife. Redboots, ”If I had done this and that” is also the correct use in North America. However, the inappropriate use of the past perfect conditional is widespread (e.B. ”If I had known, then [XYZ]”), and it drives me crazy to see how often the wrong structure is used in real life and in cinema – even by characters who are supposed to be followers of the language! I`m with you, Laura. For most Americans, the subjunctive terra is incognita. David: I don`t have much doubt that in these blues songs, the a-reference references have and don`t have some kind of colorful but meaningless vocal prefix.

On the other hand, you can never be sure about the vocal habits of singers. As a teenager listening to the country-rock band The Band, I found it impossible not to notice that one of their singers, Levon Helm, used to always pronounce the word as if it were everyone else. To this day, I have no idea what motivated him to do so. ”I wouldn`t have” or ”I didn`t have” (Laura`s comment above) – also ”I won`t do it” or ”I won`t have” etc. The distinction in England, I think, is regional. Growing up in the South, I`ve never heard previous versions. In the original article: ”It does not seem that British writers avoid double contractions … Now there is a use that has only recently made its entry into polite society. The thing about these double contractions is that they are spoken in AmE all the time, but almost never written. I`ve never written one before and I don`t remember writing it before. You`re probably familiar with regular contractions done with two words like you did and didn`t.

And you probably even used three-word contractions like she would have done and what she didn`t. I would have thought they would have been familiar to you and you would not have been surprised to hear them. Rosie, I think many of us contact both the He`s part and the non-party in a quick and casual speech. It`s just that we aim not to try to reflect it in the spelling. One alphabetic writing system is similar to another, but English has one or two unique (or perhaps only rare) characteristics at the edges, including this case. Usually, (like writers of other languages), we use spelling to represent words, but this is at odds with our desire to add a touch of linguistic style.• One problem with this is that the ”complete” variant often carries connotations of extraordinary formality. Instead of it not, we don`t replace it or (mainly in BrE) it isn`t. This signals a lack of formality and perhaps the special rhythm we hear inside.• Another problem is that the informal and contracted form sounds very different from the variant of all words; Wille, for example, is far from looking like he doesn`t.• An additional possible problem is our haggling over the should and the will. Forms like I won`t sound and won`t seem formal to him, but I want to be dubiously acceptable in the known ton. But I`m absolutely confident in writing – and a better representation of what we`re actually saying. Even before the Internet, writing in a linguistic style was on the rise – with more general movements towards informality. The impulse to signal informality gets a significant boost when we try to communicate online.

Thus, contractions become the standard standard of spelling. And yet, and yet. English does not make contractions by replacing another spelling of words. Instead, we use the dreaded apostrophe. This device seems to be quite benign in spellings as can`t, which is a clear indication that we don`t mean don`t spill. However, apostrophes come at a treatment price and ultimately abuse negates the benefits. Following the logic of the modern English apostrophe, we used to write sha`n`t Better sense prevailed and now limit the apostrophes to shan`t. I don`t know how people write and fo`c`s it. but I suspect the number is decreasing.

Two apostrophes represent eye pain that hinders rather than promotes readability. This is, I`m sure, the reason why no one writes * they aren`t and most BrE writers shouldn`t. Duplicate contractions do not occur in written English. However, in terms of spoken English, double contractions appear constantly and are perfectly grammatical. And finally, Chilver is particularly impressed by ”the word strange,” even though he himself used shan`t earlier. This suggests that James uses double punctuation to indicate an unusual pronunciation of the word sha`n`t (perhaps in the form of two syllables: sha-ent?), in the same way that he uses a hyphen to indicate an unusual pronunciation or to draw inspiration from ”A-ah!” at the beginning of the cited dialogue. I would not have been laughed at; it`s wonderfully silly. Am I going straight into its actual use assuming it is contracted differently in BrE and Can/AmE? Whether it`s followed by ”having” or not, I feel like I`m listening to the British say ”I didn`t have… ” confuse with ”I wouldn`t have had,” while we North Americans are more inclined to use ”I didn`t have.” On the other hand, it could just be my sample set that falls into some models.

Two of my favorite double contractions are ”couldn`t” and ”shouldn`t, both of which are marked by my spell checker but seem quite correct to me. Ms. Redboots, ”If I had done this and that” is also the correct use in North America. However, the inappropriate use of the past perfect condition is widespread (for example, ”If I had known, then [XYZ]”), and it drives me crazy to see how often the wrong structure is used both in real life and in movies – even by characters who are supposed to be followers of the language! ”Fish `n` chips” and similar expressions with ”`n`” technically have a double contract ”and”. The example you give is not made in American English. You cannot fill out a ”credit note” without help. ”I have no idea if it`s possible” is also not grammatical in American English. However, it can be in British English. Anonymous,Doesn`t British English use the subjunctive in the same way? I have the impression that the subjunctive in If I were is still a bit common, but that it is rarely heard after grammatical subjects other than I. There is also a distinct difference BrE~AmE in other stunted subjunctives; that it is.. .