English Contractions Quiz

+12

Level 81

Oct 1, 2018

sure it is

+9

Level 67

May 23, 2019

you missed an opportunity here quizmaster. You should ve answered alright! ;) :D instead of okay.

+1

Level 67

May 23, 2019

@someone2018 spellcheck accepts alright, and you can check some etymology sites, alright is an acceptable word.

noodles

+4

Level 67

Jan 17, 2012

A'ight is alright, not all right. Also I put in shall not twice and it wasn't accepted.

And for the record, most of these are not contractions, but rather slang.

tschutzer

+4

Level 85

Jan 17, 2012

"Alright" is a nonstandard word that is itself a contraction of all right. The Quizmaster has it correct.

+9

Level 81

May 5, 2013

In common usage alright and all right actually mean two different things. Though some particularly snooty prescriptive grammarians reject the change, as they do all changes, as history has borne out those types always ultimately lose the argument. The contraction "Aiight" can mean both "all right" and "alright."

Bobcat108

+5

Level 71

Aug 1, 2015

Guess I'm just a snooty grammarian type, then...but I'm also right.

kdadrummer

+3

Level 17

Jun 8, 2018

kalbahamut, i love you

+3

Level 81

May 23, 2019

Bobcat: you're every bit as right as those who think that awesome means awful and awful means awesome, and who spell pathetic as pathetick, or who still converse in Old English.

+2

Level 67

May 23, 2019

yes, all right means everything right and alright means okay.

2Boo2

+2

Level 44

Jan 17, 2012

I thought Mo' meant moment as in.... I'll be there in a mo'

TheWombat

+4

Level 74

Jul 8, 2014

I thought it meant 'mother', as in mofo...

someone2018

+3

Level 82

Jul 24, 2018

I'd like some more fo, please.

tshalla

+3

Level 70

Aug 6, 2018

mo money, mo problems.

LacsiraxAriscal

+5

Level 29

Jan 17, 2012

There's no such thing as improper or poor speech. The language evolves; to say some new words of phrases are poor is wrong.

cariad

+1

Level 44

Jun 2, 2015

But poor language remains just that and makes its users sound ignorant. If text speak becomes acceptable as written English I think that I shall give up and hie me to a nunnery!

+2

Level 67

May 23, 2019

But i am sure you would say/agree if I would write puur spiich, that it would be wrong.

oscarsmom

+5

Level 27

Jan 17, 2012

Zounds and Goodbye threw me! Even though they're not all contractions, it's a fun quiz! Love the grammar/language quizzes.

Nyneve922

+1

Level 42

Jan 17, 2012

Oh come on. If you accept "yes ma'am" and "what's up" you should accept "I'm going to".

And donna, please, please, read up on the subject. Your attitude is outdated and dangerous.

Quizmaster

+1

Level ∞

Jan 17, 2012

"I'm going to" will work now.

joeythelemur

+2

Level 83

May 20, 2014

Dangerous?

rivracost

+2

Level 32

May 11, 2016

dangerous to his ego

kal413

+10

Level 39

Jan 17, 2012

Both of the ones I missed had God in the them. No wonder

xolkan

+3

Level 55

Jan 18, 2012

I heard Goodbye meaning God Be With You before yet I had to cheat to get that one right and for Zounds I had no idea that it meant gods wounds(also cheating on Zounds).

Ferrets10

+1

Level 44

Jun 27, 2016

And now I see why the average scores are always so high. On some quizzes, I feel it is impossible for the average score to be so high, and I had suspected cheating for a while.

samiamco

+9

Level 72

Sep 6, 2016

Cheating is not necessarily rampant. I – and I expect many others – use these quizzes to learn. So when I get some answers wrong, I read up on them and am thereby edified. When I take the quiz again later (which I don't do right away, but weeks or months later), I have retained the new info and get those answers right. If more people are doing that, then that's pushing up the average.

+1

Level 67

May 23, 2019

no it isnt samiamco, cause only the first time you take quiz counts. And nothing wrong with what you do. But looking up the answers WHILE you are doing the quiz is another matter.

Grey area is, on a non language quiz, if someone knows the answer, but do not know the spelling in english. I am not sure how to judge that one.

FirefromtheEast

+14

Level 51

Jan 18, 2012

I've never heard the word "zounds" or the expression "God's wounds". :/

Algernon

+2

Level 69

Jun 18, 2017

You and me both!

divantilya

+1

Level 37

Jun 3, 2018

^ Same here. And I've only heard of "Goodbye" translated as "Go with God", or "by God's leave".

theLAYTshow

+1

Level 44

Jan 18, 2012

@kal413, same for me, hehehe

RyanSem

+1

Level 39

Jan 18, 2012

@frozenELEMENT: Cannot and Can not have two different meanings, albeit they are very similar in spelling. Subtle differences yes, but "Can not" is the correct one :P

Missed Goodbye and Zounds - never heard of the contractions of either of them.

KiltedKnight

+3

Level 51

Oct 1, 2018

Incorrect. "Can't" is a contraction of "cannot."

KiltedKnight

+2

Level 51

Oct 1, 2018

And here is the link: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/can%27t

happygrrl

+3

Level 17

Jan 19, 2012

dr, jr, sgt, and mr are abbriviations not contractions aren't they?

WillA25

+1

Level 30

Nov 28, 2017

Yeah...

ctleng76

+1

Level 63

Jan 19, 2012

@imryan94: Can you tell us what the difference is, because I can't think how their meanings are different at all. As a kid I was always taught that "can not" is the incorrect spelling.

mal

+1

Level 54

Jan 20, 2012

I have always thought of mo' as moment-just a mo' or give us a mo' would be the examples.

I have alway thought of innit being short for 'Is it not?' after all it's generally used as a question, innit?

Pixie

+1

Level 26

Feb 1, 2012

I'm pretty sure mo is short for moment.

mariofan367

+1

Level 15

Feb 29, 2012

I WILL NE'ER SAY NE'ER. Thank god he's candian. LOL

STL1994

+3

Level 46

Mar 4, 2012

Cannot is one word. It is never written can not.

Etanna

+2

Level 62

Aug 8, 2014

no

KatM

+2

Level 20

Mar 6, 2012

Learnt something new. Good bye actually means something.. Wow.

Doenutty

+1

Level 47

Apr 5, 2012

Could not think of how to break down Goodbye, although it makes sense now, zounds however, I have never heard in my life!! Will accept knowing the rest as now I know...!

neho

+1

Level 20

May 31, 2012

Goodbye I would have thought was derived from "farewell" or "farethewell on your journey" hence "bye and bye". Maybe the definitions depend on which history book or bible a person reads.

+1

Level 67

May 23, 2019

it doesnt, which books you read doesnt change the origins of phrases/terms. Do you mean by and by? bye bye is simply a (childrens) reduplication

Kvkq

+2

Level 70

Jun 2, 2012

Could is it not be acceptable for "Innit" since "is not it" is O.K.?

pitzikat

+2

Level 72

Apr 2, 2013

I agree. That's the only one I didn't get. I tried "is it not" and couldn't think of anything else. You would never say: is not it a good book. You'd say: is it not a good book.

samiamco

+1

Level 72

Sep 6, 2016

I actually could totally imagine saying (and it *is* grammatically correct), "Is not it a good book?" Speaking of totally, I am SO relieved to not've found "totes" on this quiz ;-)

AleckrulesOK

+1

Level 22

Jul 10, 2012

zounds is dead old-fashioned - probably floating all over the place in Shakespeare. "Gor blimey " is a good one too. Means "May God blind me". As a kid I was always discouraged from saying it because of what it really meant.

Yes, well, I'm sure you all wanted to know that . . . . not . . .

Cwej

+1

Level 65

Jul 22, 2013

Strewth! Or, god's truth, if you prefer... ;-)

joeythelemur

+1

Level 83

May 20, 2014

Haha, never heard "strewth" until Monty Python. It's a fun and funny word.

+1

Level 67

May 24, 2019

I have never seen/heard gor, only cor and thought you were mistaken so looked it up. But apparently both versions exist.

+2

Level 81

May 5, 2013

great quiz. Much more interesting than the name implies. I got everything, including god's wounds, except for "goodbye," even though I figured it was something along those lines.

+2

Level 70

Dec 1, 2015

You got 'Zounds' and not 'Goodbye'........ that's quaint.

+1

Level 81

May 23, 2019

I would have also gotten gadzooks and ods bonkins.

buck1017

+1

Level 72

Jun 8, 2013

Today I learned that contraction = abbreviation. I suppose Dr has been contracted down from it's full word, but i don't think that is the fundamental definition of contraction. I always thought you needed an apostrophe to replace a letter.

+1

Level 67

May 24, 2019

most of these arent contractions, I guess you could see doc as one for doctor but not dr, if you pronounce it, it doesnt come close

NekroNeko

+1

Level 26

Jun 25, 2013

I don't want to be that guy but mo' is also a contraction of homosexual.

The main use of mo' though is moment, not more, unless you listen to a lot of rap.

sillie

+1

Level 82

May 25, 2014

So "Good" in Goodbye means God. Does "Good" in "Good morning" also mean "God"? --- I am just glad I missed both God-related ones. Fare-thee-well!

PorcNBeanz

+1

Level 60

Sep 11, 2014

Good Dammit!

Darwin51

+2

Level 31

Jun 19, 2014

Zounds sounds like something Velma or Shaggy would say. I'm not going to take sides but in English class we've always been taught that "All right" means all correct, or all set, or something, while "Alright" means okay or some form of agreement. As far as I've learned, they've always both been words. And I just finished up English 11R I literally took the exam today.

Quizmaster

+1

Level ∞

Jun 20, 2014

Your teacher is making stuff up.

LarryLovage

+3

Level 58

Oct 27, 2014

You're thinking of "Zoinks!" which of course means "God oinks".

Anzi

+1

Level 71

Aug 6, 2018

God’s oinks, surely ;)

+1

Level 81

May 23, 2019

No English words have always been words but in common usage, yes, alright and all right currently mean different things.

ecp

+1

Level 48

Jun 21, 2014

I like this quiz. But the comment forum is annoying. (Who cares if they're abbreviations or contractions? They're all deleting letters in the written form.) And I do wish that "Mrs" had been included in the quiz, if only to drive home the point that it doesn't come from "Mister's" and was never in any way possessive. It's "Mistress" (which came to be pronounced "missus"), which was a general form of address for women of authority and later came to be associated only with married women.

+3

Level 67

May 24, 2019

What???? I have never ever heard of ( anybody thinking) mrs came from mister's and supposedly being possessive, that's crazy ( more so if it's true if it true)

heavenspet

+1

Level 36

Jun 21, 2014

Technically, Goodbye is an alteration of God Be With Ye, not a contraction

KiltedKnight

+3

Level 51

Aug 6, 2014

Can't is a contraction for "cannot," not "can not."

If you cannot do something, you are unable to do it.

If you can not do something, it says you have a choice of whether or not you can do it.

ander217

+1

Level 78

Aug 24, 2014

Where I live "is not it" is contracted to "id'nt".

zimbabwe12

+1

Level 53

Oct 17, 2014

I'll probably get yelled at, but I'm pretty sure some of these contractions are just ebonic words.

LarryLovage

+1

Level 58

Oct 27, 2014

Y'all isn't a contraction. It is the English language's only distinct word to represent the pronoun of the 2nd Person Plural. The American South has the only form of English blessed with this construction, (in common with many other languages). The rest of us have to say "You" to mean both singular and plural and hope the context makes our meaning clear.

joeythelemur

+2

Level 83

Nov 17, 2014

So if it's not a contraction, why the apostrophe?

+1

Level 67

May 24, 2019

regardless of the rest of your comment y'all is definitely a contraction. From you all (which can still be used to make a distinction between singular and plural)

Rodman

+2

Level 42

Dec 16, 2014

isn't 'innit' - is it not?

beccimoo

+1

Level 59

Jul 12, 2015

Yes, that is what I thought.

lucd13

+1

Level 67

Sep 3, 2020

100%

parsons8

+1

Level 27

Mar 12, 2015

Must say I'm totally stunned to learn zounds was originally god's wounds, especially since wounds and zounds don't rhyme, but I guess it's an example of both spelling *and* pronunciation changing over time. As several others ahead of me have pointed out, languages are dynamic and constantly changing. Except, obviously, for dead languages, such as Latin.

beccimoo

+1

Level 59

Jul 12, 2015

So pleased it's (sorry, it is) not just me who hasn't (has not) heard of zounds. Have not heard of it, and would not know what it was if I had.

snoofilo

+1

Level 49

Jul 14, 2015

could not guess anything for "Goodbye" and "Zounds." failed those.

EmilyRoberts

+1

Level 46

Aug 27, 2015

Seargent doesn't work :(

TangoMike

+2

Level 47

May 23, 2019

That's because it's wrong

Kellydancer

+2

Level 44

Sep 5, 2015

For dunno I kept putting I do not know and couldn't figure out why it was wrong

Casanovaashu

+1

Level 19

Nov 26, 2015

I do not know, haha.

gogiants

+1

Level 41

Sep 23, 2015

Dr, Mr, Sgt, etc. are all abbreviations, not contractions

sinihipsukka

+2

Level 70

Oct 23, 2015

"Can't" is short for "cannot". Not "can not".

MilanIsNotTheBaws

+1

Level 63

Jan 6, 2016

made up "zounds" for this one? noice!

Baalhammon

+3

Level 58

Jan 19, 2016

"Innit" is a contraction for "Isn't it" which is a contraction for "Is it not". The quiz says "Is not it", which is wrong.

redhead24

+1

Level 60

Mar 23, 2016

may i point out that a contraction needs an apostrophe in it

twentyonetinas

+1

Level 11

Mar 26, 2016

Glad I'm not the only one who didnt get "goodbye" and "zounds" like ??????????

+1

Level 70

Apr 5, 2016

There are distinct differences in speech contractions and written contractions (to use the wording given). Mr is only used when written, you still pronounce 'Mister', likewise Dr, Jr, Sgt.

ChaosQuizzer

+3

Level 21

May 12, 2016

Innit is actually Is it not because it implies a question to confirm something, not prove it wrong. Such as: "This is a great story, innit?", which means "This is a great story, is it not?" and not "This is a great story, is not it?"

sussexval

+3

Level 60

Sep 9, 2016

Totally agree, ChaosQuizzer. No one ever says IS NOT IT but you can say IS IT NOT?

+1

Level 70

Aug 6, 2018

I think 'innit' means isn't it, many English speaking people say 'isn't it' and this becomes 'innit' in some regions. e.g. "Its a good movie innit?"

karnag

+2

Level 41

Nov 12, 2018

Absolutely correct. Very common phrase in UK english, particularly London

Soccerstud

+1

Level 34

May 26, 2016

bad quiz and can't is spelled cannot not "can not"

Froststar101

+1

Level 66

Mar 22, 2017

Sorry, but where I live, Mo' is definitely Motherf***er.

+1

Level 67

May 24, 2019

isnt that mofo?

jajaco2017

+2

Level 60

May 1, 2017

innit = is it not

kitkat90009

+1

Level 21

May 6, 2017

zounds? wtf?????

WanderingWalrus

+1

Level 72

Aug 29, 2017

Lummy. Worra lorra comments, innit? Wadyu rekun?

+1

Level 67

May 24, 2019

Hah, non english speaker here, but I think you said; Blimey, what/were a lot of comments, isn't it, what do you reckon.

ECon211

+1

Level 84

Sep 6, 2017

Moustache really should work for 'Mo'.

snoke001

+1

Level 13

Jan 7, 2018

no

+1

Level 67

May 24, 2019

nostache

MustardCustard

+1

Level 52

Sep 6, 2017

I do not know doesn't work as a possible answer.

snoke001

+1

Level 13

Jan 7, 2018

Zounds, Hogan! Our mule has been stolen!

pinkpeach121

+2

Level 39

Mar 30, 2018

I thought 'innit' was 'is it not'

Shiloh376

+1

Level 72

Mar 30, 2018

zounds and goodbye don't belong in this quiz. Otherwise, pretty easy!

oweifdhskxn

+1

Level 39

Jul 28, 2018

...i agree along with imma and sup...

Pharley

+2

Level 66

Aug 2, 2018

Why not?

Liyah15

+1

Level 34

Apr 30, 2018

24/30 but i'm french

RPHXX

+1

Level 67

Aug 4, 2018

23/30 but I'm german

Shirmal

+2

Level 56

Aug 3, 2018

surely 'innit'. is 'is it not' ?

bb11145

+1

Level 42

Aug 3, 2018

Surely!

+1

Level 70

Aug 6, 2018

No, but this is a good quiz innit?

Archer1212

+2

Level 59

Aug 3, 2018

there's so much wrong with this quiz i don't even know where to begin... first of all, a contraction indicates legit English, as opposed to slang, which half this quiz consists of. second, "Jr., Mr., Dr., and Sgt., 'til, ma'am, 'em, mo', n'er, and o'er" are NOT contractions. they're abbreviations. a contraction combines two words to make one. and finally, can't is short for "cannot." it's one word, not two.

oweifdhskxn

+1

Level 39

Aug 6, 2018

...annoying, innit?...

diamadi

+1

Level 55

Oct 1, 2018

Thank you. Drove me crazy, too. A third of these are contractions. Others are slang, abbreviations, or just shortened forms of speech

RPHXX

+1

Level 67

Aug 4, 2018

Yesn't

ashgreen2080

+1

Level 42

Aug 19, 2018

I have never in my life heard of such a thing as "God's Wounds". Where exactly is this colloquialism from?

brandybuck96

+1

Level 77

Sep 24, 2018

It's quite a dated phrase that's used quite a lot in Shakespeare, at least as "Zounds".

diamadi

+1

Level 55

Oct 1, 2018

Says it is archaic. I may have heard Zounds once or twice, but only as a surprise exclamation. God's wounds is a new one on me.

+1

Level 81

May 23, 2019

When people used to swear it was almost always invoking God or Satan or Hell or some other mythology in some way. "By God's wounds!" is to say that you are swearing by the stigmata of Jesus, as if you've seen something that is similarly impressive or surprising as proof of the resurrection. Or if you needed something to swear an oath by, upon which your veracity and sincerity could not be in doubt, this would also be a worthy subject. Like swearing on your mother's grave.

Think about modern expressions like "Gosh dang it," or "damn it to Hell," or "I swear to God," or "God almighty!"... things haven't really changed that much. It's almost all stuff like that or else descriptions of private parts and sex acts.

+1

Level 81

May 23, 2019

or.. Great Odin's raven!

charchar711

+1

Level 58

Sep 30, 2018

Many of these are not contractions at all- they are abbreviations which are not the same thing. Contractions occur ONLY when two words become one by using an apostrophe. (Did not read all comments so perhaps this fact was already mentioned.)

bigbird54

+1

Level 51

Oct 1, 2018

I agree jr mr dr sgt are all abbreviations but let us you all shall not madam all right could have I would have do not can not we are what is up gods wounds god be with ye going to do not know want to be more is not it good day yes madam them I am going to come on until over never are contractions

MarieDS

+1

Level 56

Apr 16, 2019

I feel like contractions can also apply to words, syllables, and groups of words if letters or sounds are missing from.

AChipmunk

+1

Level 43

Oct 1, 2018

"Zounds".

Has anybody ever said that?

TriviaTramp

+1

Level 26

Oct 26, 2018

Goodbye is a compound word

MarieDS

+1

Level 56

Apr 16, 2019

I'm very happy to see the word zounds in this quiz. I don't remember where I learned that it's a contraction of "God's wounds," but when I did, I decided it was my favorite thing. Just so graphic, right? So thank you for giving me the opportunity to put that prettymuch useless piece of trivia to use!

Shiloh376

+1

Level 72

May 22, 2019

Fun quiz! Judging by the percentages, most people appear to have found "zounds" and "Goodbye" pretty obscure. Didn't seem to fit with the relative ease of the rest.

undeadwarrior

+1

Level 56

May 23, 2019

Mo is also shorthand for moustache.

undeadwarrior

+2

Level 56

May 23, 2019

Can you please also accept "Is it not?" for innit?

+1

Level 62

Jul 1, 2020

It's short for "isn't it?"

+1

Level 67

May 23, 2019

I did god by you(ye) and variations, I knew it was something like that.

I think my thinking might have been influenced by dutch. Cause "bij jou" is literally "by you", but means with you (or at your place in some other cases) with you would be "met jou".

We still have on our coins god zij met jou, which means god be(eth) with you. I think that was somewhere in the back of my mind.

divantilya

+1

Level 37

Jul 10, 2019

Ebonics galore! - I've tried desperately to wean my nephew off of using ebonics and return to using standard English and here they are on Jetpunk!

Geographystar

+1

Level 55

Aug 2, 2019

You + All = Y'all, Are + Not = Ain't, Y'all + Ain't = Yain't. And yes, that is a real word used by real people in real conversations!

arpacas

+2

Level 42

Sep 8, 2019

Obviously you need to make the answer "is it not" for "Innit" and not "is not it"?

+1

Level 62

Jul 1, 2020

I'd aver that it's a contraction of "isn't it?", and so should indeed be "is not it".

PeregrineFalcon

+3

Level 71

Dec 5, 2019

The contraction is "ne'er", not "n'er". https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/ne'er

Anzi

+2

Level 71

Dec 6, 2019

Could you add o’clock ?

Marvel072506

+1

Level 39

Jan 23, 2020

Then there's "won't". I dunno where the "wo" part comes from but if we used the contraction the way we used the others it would be"willn't".

Sauron

+1

Level 59

Jun 27, 2020

Won't is actually a contraction of woll and not. Woll being the middle english word for will.

someone2018

+1

Level 82

Mar 9, 2020

8 years of solid refusal to accept "is it not". That's just plain stubborn, innit?

+1

Level 62

Jul 1, 2020

It's a contraction of "isn't it?" which itself is indeed a contraction of "is not it".