The use of short forms is very common in English, particularly in colloquial English and in informal situations.
Verbs in the present tense which have short forms are “to be”, “to have got” and “to have” (when used as an auxiliary verb). There is also a short form for the verb “to do”, but only when it is used as an auxiliary verb and only in the negative.
| Afirmativo | Forma corta | Negativo | Forma corta |
|---|
| I am | I’m | I am not | I’m not |
| you are | you’re | you are not | you’re not
you aren’t |
| he is | he’s | he is not | he’s not
he isn’t |
| she is | she’s | she is not | she’s not
she isn’t |
| it is | it’s | it is not | it’s not
it isn’t |
| we are | we’re | we are not | we’re not
we aren’t |
| they are | they’re | they are not | they’re not
they aren’t |
| | He’s not here. / He isn’t here. |
| | They’re not Spanish. / They aren’t Spanish. |
| Affirmative | Short form | Negative | Short form |
|---|
| I have got | I’ve got | I have not got | I’ve not got
I haven’t got |
| you have got | you’ve got | you have not got | you’ve not got
you haven’t got |
| he has got | he’s got | he has not got | he’s not got
he hasn’t |
| she has got | she’s got | she has not got | she’s not got
she hasn’t got |
| it has got | it’s got | it has not got | it’s not got
it hasn’t got |
| we have got | we’ve got | we have not got | we’ve not got
we haven’t got |
| they have got | they’ve got | they have not got | they’ve not got
they haven’t got |
| | It’s [the cat] not got a home. / It hasn’t got a home. |
| | They’ve not got children. / They haven’t got children. |
Note: We do not use the short form of “
to have” when it is used as the principal verb; only when it is used as the auxiliary verb (as we will see in the lesson on the
present perfect tense).
When “to have” is the principal verb, we cannot say:
Note: We do not use the short form of “to have” when it is used as the principal verb; only when it is used as the auxiliary verb (as we will see in the lesson on the present perfect tense).
When “to have” is the principal verb, we cannot say:
The verb “to do” only has a short form when it is used as an auxiliary verb and only in the negative.
| Negative | Short Form |
|---|
| I do not | I don’t |
| you do not | you don’t |
| he does not | he doesn’t |
| she does not | she doesn’t |
| it does not | it doesn’t |
| we do not | we don’t |
| they do not | they don’t |
| | She doesn’t like ice cream. |
Note: For more information on the use of “to do” as an auxiliary verb, see the lessons on verbs, constructing sentences and the present simple.
4. In addition to personal pronouns, we can use short forms with interrogative pronouns such as “what” and “where”, as well as the following: “here”, “there”, and “that”. In these cases, the short form only exists in the singular (“is”).
| Long Form | Short Form |
|---|
| What is | What’s |
| Who is | Who’s |
| When is | When’s |
| Where is | Where’s |
| How is | How’s |
| Here is | Here’s |
| There is | There’s |
| That is | That’s |
Note: There are more short forms in other verb tenses which we will see in later lessons.
En inglés, el uso de las formas cortas es muy común, en particular se utilizan en el lenguaje coloquial y en situaciones informales.
Los verbos en el presente que tienen formas cortas son “to be” (ser/estar) y “to have”/“have got” (tener). “To do” (forma auxiliar) tiene una forma corta, pero sólo en el negativo.
1. To be
| Afirmativo | Forma corta | Negativo | Forma corta |
|---|
| I am | I’m | I am not | I’m not |
| you are | you’re | you are not | you’re not
you aren’t |
| he is | he’s | he is not | he’s not
he isn’t |
| she is | she’s | she is not | she’s not
she isn’t |
| it is | it’s | it is not | it’s not
it isn’t |
| we are | we’re | we are not | we’re not
we aren’t |
| they are | they’re | they are not | they’re not
they aren’t |
Ejemplos:
| | I’m happy.(Estoy contento.) |
| | It’s 10:00.(Son las 10h.) |
| | He’s not here./He isn’t here.(No está aqui.) |
| | They’re not Spanish./They aren’t Spanish.(No son españoles.) |
2. To have got
| Afirmativo | Forma corta | Negativo | Forma corta |
|---|
| I have got | I’ve got | I have not got | I’ve not got
I haven’t got |
| you have got | you’ve got | you have not got | you’ve not got
you haven’t got |
| he has got | he’s got | he has not got | he’s not got
he hasn’t |
| she has got | she’s got | she has not got | she’s not got
she hasn’t got |
| it has got | it’s got | it has not got | it’s not got
it hasn’t got |
| we have got | we’ve got | we have not got | we’ve not got
we haven’t got |
| they have got | they’ve got | they have not got | they’ve not got
they haven’t got |
Ejemplos:
| | I’ve got a car.(Tengo un coche.) |
| | You’ve got blue eyes.(Tienes ojos azules.) |
| | He’s got big feet.(Tiene pies grandes.) |
| | It [the cat] hasn’t got a home.(No tiene casa.) |
| | They’ve not got children./They haven’t got children.(No tienen hijos.) |
Nota: Para “
have got” solemos usar la forma corta en el presente en vez de la forma larga. No usamos la forma corta de “
to have” para indicar posesión. Veremos ejemplos del uso de la forma corta de “
to have” en la lección del
presente perfecto.
Para indicar posesión, no podemos decir:
I’ve car.
He’s blue eyes.
Nota: Para “have got” solemos usar la forma corta en el presente en vez de la forma larga. No usamos la forma corta de “to have” para indicar posesión. Veremos ejemplos del uso de la forma corta de “to have” en la lección del presente perfecto.
Para indicar posesión, no podemos decir:
I’ve car.
He’s blue eyes.
3. To do
| Negativo | Forma corta |
|---|
| I do not | I don’t |
| you do not | you don’t |
| he does not | he doesn’t |
| she does not | she doesn’t |
| it does not | it doesn’t |
| we do not | we don’t |
| they do not | they don’t |
Ejemplos:
| | She doesn’t like ice cream.(No le gusta el helado.) |
| | It doesn’t snow here.(No nieva aquí.) |
| | We don’t have children.(No tenemos hijos.) |
Nota: Hay más información sobre el uso del auxiliar en las lecciones sobre construir frases, los verbos y el presente simple.
4. Además de los pronombres personales, podemos usar formas cortas con pronombres interrogativos y las palabras “here” (aquí), “there” (allí) y “that” (eso).
Ejemplos:
| | Where’s the concert?(¿Dónde es el concierto?) |
| | How’s your father?(¿Cómo está tu padre?) |
| | Here’s the book.(Aquí está el libro.) |
| | That’s mine.(Eso es mío.) |
| Forma larga | Forma corta |
|---|
| What is | What’s |
| Who is | Who’s |
| When is | When’s |
| Where is | Where’s |
| How is | How’s |
| Here is | Here’s |
| There is | There’s |
| That is | That’s |
Nota: Existen más formas cortas con otros tiempos verbales. Las veremos en las lecciones correspondientes.
