I was just writing an email to explain why something was not going to be a problem when I thought of this.
2006-09-07 07:06:18 · 13 answers · asked by Fire_God_69 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
They are both grammatically correct.
I felt there was more to the story, though, so I consulted the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. It says that "be" is contracted in this way differently depending on the situation. It is most often contracted in conversation (about 75%) contracted about half the time in fiction, and contracted very little of the time in news reporting and academic writing (about 10% and less than 2% respectively.)
So, I recommend that you make your choice based on the situation that you're writing for. Apparently, more contraction is used in less formal contexts, and less contraction is used in more formal contexts.
ADDITIONAL: The answer just previous to mine makes a good point that, if you want to emphasize "not", you shouldn't contract.
2006-09-07 15:51:57 · answer #1 · answered by drshorty 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually, Karin, yes you can, although it doesn't happen very often. The Concise Oxford Dictionary lists "an't" (note the absence of an I) as a contraction of "am not". It may be only used in a few English dialects, but it *has* been established. So you could say "I'm not" or "I an't".
As for the question, you could say either "it's not" or "it isn't". Which one you choose, however, depends on whether you want to emphasise "not" or the "is" in "isn't".
2006-09-07 21:32:58 · answer #2 · answered by ichliebekira 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Both are correct =)
1. You can contract Pronoun + Verb To Be (and then add "not")
e.g. You're not... He's not...
2. Or write the Pronoun and then contract Verb To Be + Not
e.g. You aren't... He isn't...
The only exception is with the pronoun I. You can't contract "am" + not, so the only possibility is: I'm not.
2006-09-07 14:12:03 · answer #3 · answered by Karin 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Both are correct. Same sentence, different contractions.
It isn't = It is not. You are contracting the word "not."
It's not = It is not. You are contracting the word "is."
2006-09-07 14:13:49 · answer #4 · answered by woodwinman 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Both are correct english.
2006-09-07 14:09:05 · answer #5 · answered by kekeke 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
both of them are correct, they are just two ways of abreviation:
It + is = It's
is + not = isn't
2006-09-07 14:22:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Both are correct since they both mean 'It is not'
2006-09-07 14:13:15 · answer #7 · answered by Eileen H 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It just depends on the sentence you are formulating which one you will use. Either one is okay.
2006-09-07 15:24:38 · answer #8 · answered by Goldenrain 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Both.
2006-09-07 17:07:50 · answer #9 · answered by Earthling 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They r both correct but "It's not..." is more formal.
2006-09-07 15:43:46 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋