Shoulda coulda woulda

This question will reveal to all the low level of my shorthand skills, but here goes:  in what Gregg book, if any, are contractions dealt with?  “Wouldn’t have; didn’t like; should’ve gone; she’ll know; we’re here” etc.  I don’t seem to find the issue addressed per se in the early books, and maybe I don’t have enough of the post-Simplified books to have found the answer…do you just put an apostrophe over the letter, or write it as it sounds with “nt” “l” or “v” or what is the basic principle?  Thank you…I had such good luck with my first question, I though I’d risk another…am I pressing my luck?!  

(by jim for everyone)


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4 comments Add yours
  1. With anniversary they do have the contraditions.  "Don't" is dont with a apostrophe  over the nt blend.  I think "don't" is spelled out… I've wrote it a few times myself because I use them a lot in my personal wording.  Debbi

  2. If you have the anniversary edition from the Angelfishy site, the PDF, there's a contradiction, "That's" and it's on the 245 reading and writing practice, second line.  I was trying to find the rule and thought it was somewhere at the end… I guess I got that don't wrong… I thought I had saw it with an apostrophe… Oh rule 158 When necessary, don't may be distinguished from do not by writing don for don't.  

  3. Found it in there, rule 149's note…   Note: If the contractions wasn't, isn't, etc. need to be positively identicated, the apostrophe is placed above the forms.

  4. In general, you write contractions as they sound, except in a few cases:

    1. If the outline of the contraction and the outline of the full form is the same, you distinguish with an apostrophe over the outline:

    Example: that is = over th – a – right s; that's = over th – a – right s – apostrophe over outline

    2. If the outline contains the word "not", you write it in full for the regular form, and use the nt blend for the contraction:

    Example: would not = d – n, wouldn't = d – nt

    3. (Simplified and before) The phrase "was not" are always blended only if they come after pronouns, and is never blended before anything else. So the contracted form "wasn't" is distinguished with the apostrophe.

    Example: I was not = a – o – left s – nt

    But: Joe was not = j – o o – right s – n

    4. (Simplified and before) The phrase "is not" is only blended after the pronouns "it" and "there". It is written in full after everything else. "Isn't" is always written blended.

    Example: he is not = e – right s – n
    it is not = t – left s – nt
    there is not = under th – left s – nt

    3. Some exceptions in Anniversary:

    a. do not = d – u – n; do not (after pronouns) = dn; don't = d – o – n;
    b. will not = l – n; won't = o – nt

    I hope this helps.

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