Shortened form of verbs in English. Have and have got: differences, uses, forms. informal abbreviations in English

In the modern age, saturated with information, there is less and less time for communication and correspondence. No matter how paradoxical it may sound, the more information a person has, the more ways he looks for to reduce it and transmit it in a more condensed form. One of the most the best ways to shorten words and expressions is to use abbreviations.

Today they are found everywhere in general English, in business correspondence, in SMS messages and chats, and in international terms. Many of them are used quite often, so not only students of English, but also an ordinary modern person should master a couple of the most common ones.

Abbreviation(Italian abbreviatura from Latin brevis - short) - a word formed by an abbreviation of a word or phrase and read by the alphabetical name of the initial letters or by the initial sounds of the words included in it.

Abbreviations are found in every language in the world and play a huge role. Sometimes ignorance or incorrect use of a particular abbreviation in English can lead to a rather awkward situation or misunderstanding of what the interlocutor wants to express with a particular phrase.

Let's look at an example of the incorrect use of a fairly well-known abbreviation LOL(laughing out loud - laugh loudly, out loud).

Messages
Mom: Your beloved aunt just passed away. LOL
I: Why is that funny?
Mom: It’s not funny, David!
I: Mom, LOL means “laughing out loud”.
Mom: Oh my goodness! I thought it means “lots of love”...I sent it to everyone! I need to call everyone…

Messages
Mom: Your favorite aunt just passed away. LOL
Me: What's so funny about that?
Mom: This is not funny, David!
Me: Mom, LOL means "laugh out loud".
Mom: Oh God! I thought it meant lots of love...
I sent this to everyone! We need to call everyone back...

Business letters and abbreviations

Writing business letters and composing business correspondence today requires high-quality study and a careful approach. When faced for the first time with the design and decoding of abbreviations in business English, a beginner sometimes experiences confusion and bewilderment as to what it all means. The difficulty lies in using this or that abbreviation correctly, as well as in the specifics of business vocabulary. However, as in any area of language learning, knowledge and a little practice will help you overcome any difficulties.

A number of abbreviations are used only in writing, but in oral speech the full forms of the word are pronounced:

Mr. (mister)- Mister;
Mrs. (mistress)- Mrs.
Dr. (Doctor)- doctor;
St. (Saint/Street)- saint or street;
Blvd. (boulevard)- boulevard;
Ave. (avenue)- avenue;
Sq. (square)- square;
Rd. (road)- road;
Bldg. (building)- building;
B.Sc. (Bachelor of Science)- Bachelor of Science;
M.A. (Master of Arts)- Master of Arts;
Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)- Candidate of Sciences;
M.D. (Doctor of Medicine)- Doctor of Medical Sciences.

The most popular business abbreviations of English words are given below:

Co (company)- company;
PA (personal assistant)- personal assistant;
Appx. (appendix)- application;
Re. (reply)- answer;
p. (page)- page;
smth. (something)- something;
smb. (somebody)- someone;
vs ( lat. versus)- against;
etc. ( lat. et cetera)- and so on.

Popular three-letter acronyms ( TLA or Three-Letter Acronyms) in the business sphere:

CAO (Chief Administrative Officer)- head of administration;
CEO (Chief Executive Officer)- chief executive officer (CEO);
exp. (export)- export - removal of goods beyond the borders of the country;
HR (human resources)- HR service of the enterprise;
HQ (Headquarters)- main department of the company;
LLC (limited liability company)- society with limited liability(OOO);
R&D (research and development)- research and development;
IT (information technology)- information Technology.

Examples of business correspondence using abbreviations :

Dear Mr. Braun, our Co will be glad to offer you the position of CAO.- Dear Mr. Brown, our company will be glad to offer you the position of chief accountant of the company.
Dear Ms. Stone, my PA will definitely contact you about changes in exp. process - Dear Miss Stone, my personal secretary will contact you regarding changes in the export process.

Chats and SMS

As stated above, in English there are Three Letter Acronyms ( TLA or Three-Letter Acronyms), which help shorten and condense fairly large phrases into 3 letters. For today, that's enough popular way save time when corresponding on social networks.

BFN (bye for now)- see you later, bye
BTW (by the way)- By the way
FYI (for your information)- for your information
JIT (just in time)- during
IOW (in other words)- in other words, in other words
NRN (no reply is necessary)- no answer required
OTOH (on the other hand)- on the other side

As for SMS abbreviations, there are a huge number of them.
The specificity of such abbreviations is that it can be almost impossible to decipher without a detailed analysis.

GL (good luck)- Good luck!
GB (good bye)- Bye
DNO (don't know)- Don't know
ASAYGT (as soon as you get this)- as soon as you receive it
B4 (before)- before that
BC (because)- because
BON (believe it or not)- believe it or not
BW (best wishes)- best wishes
BZ (busy)- busy
CYT (see you tomorrow)- see you tomorrow

Wish you G.L. on your exam. Mom. - I wish you good luck in the exam. Mother.
Sorry. BZ. C.Y.T.- I beg your pardon. Busy. See you tomorrow.
I will be JIT. G.B.- I'll be on time. Bye.

For a detailed overview of English abbreviations for words in SMS, we recommend visiting, which contains 2000+ abbreviations.

As we can see, the topic is quite extensive, but don’t be scared! After encountering acronyms and abbreviations in English several times, you simply cannot help but fall in love with them for their originality and help in saving you time. And once you love something, you will definitely and easily remember it!

We suggest you choose a couple of abbreviations for yourself right now and surprise your loved ones with improved communication! BFN and watch your step while texting!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

The verb be in English plays many roles: a linking verb, an integral part of the predicate, part of a temporary construction, independent and modal verb. In some cases, in oral and written speech it can be used in an abbreviated form.

Conjugation of to be by tense

In the present tense, regardless of whether the verb is used as a semantic verb or is part of a grammatical construction, to be has 3 forms:

am in the 1st person singular;
is in the 3rd person singular;
are in the plural.

I am a generous person. - I'm a generous person.

He is a generous person. - He is a generous person.

We are people generous. – We are generous people.

The pronoun you is used both in the singular and in the plural, but in any case they are added to it.

You are young enough to take up sport. – You are young enough to take up sports.

You are to come to school at 9 tomorrow. – Tomorrow you must come to school at 9.

The verb to be in the present tense can only be shortened in affirmative sentences. The full and short forms of the verb be are used equally in this case, without changing the meaning of the phrase.

I'm a generous person.

He's a generous person.

We're people generous.

The verb be is classified as an irregular verb, so its second form is used in the past tense. In the singular was (was), in the plural were (were).

Kate was at the hospital when her friend called her. – Katya was in the hospital when her friend called her.

The Ivanovs were in Moscow last weekend. – The Ivanovs went to Moscow last weekend.

According to the correct use of was/were in speech and writing, these forms cannot be shortened.

Table Forms of the verb to be

Learn more about the use of be in the present and past tenses in different types A table will help you with your statements.

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*Time*	*Type of utterance*	*Full form*	*Short form*	*Translation*
Present	Statement	I am busy at the weekend. He is a talented painter. She is a good mother. It is our lovely cat. We are from London. You are good at Maths. They are famous sportsmen.	I'm busy at the weekend. H's a talented painter. She's a good mother. It's our lovely cat. We're from London. You're good at Maths. They're famous sportsmen.	We were busy over the weekend. He is a talented artist. She's a good mom. This is our favorite cat. We are from London. You are good at math. They are famous athletes.
	Negation	I am not busy at the weekend. He is not a talented painter. She is not a good mother. It is not our lovely cat. We are not from London. You are not good at Maths. They are not famous sportsmen.	I'm not busy at the weekend. He isn't a talented painter. She isn't a good mother. It isn't our lovely cat. We aren't from London. You aren't good at Maths. They aren't famous sportsmen.	We weren't busy on the weekend. He is a mediocre artist. She's a bad mom. This is not our favorite cat. We're not from London. You're bad at math. They are unknown athletes.
	Question	Am I busy at the weekend? Is he a talented painter? Is she a good mother? Is it our lovely cat? Are we from London? Are you good at Maths? Are they famous sportsmen?	——————————–	Were we busy over the weekend? Is he a talented artist? Is she a good mom? Is this our favorite cat? Are we from London? Are you good at math? Are they famous athletes?
Past	Statement	I/He/She/It was at the football match last year. We/You/They were at the football match last year.	———————————	I (He/She/It) was at a football match last year. We (You/You/They) were at a football match last year.
	Negation	I/He/She/It was not at the football match last year. We/You/They were not at the football match last year.	I/He/She/It wasn’t at the football match last year. We/You/They weren’t at the football match last	I (He/She/It) didn't go to the football match last year. We (You/You/They) weren't at the football match last year.
	Question	Was I/he/she/it at the football match last year? Were we/you/they at the football match last year?	———————————	Did I (He/She/It) go to a football match last year? We (You/You/They) went to a football match last year?

What have we learned?

The verb to be has 2 forms in the past tense. To be can be shortened in affirmative sentences of the present tense, where this verb is presented in 3 variants.

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You've probably noticed that often in colloquial speech, along with the verb have They say have got. In this regard, many questions arise:

Have and have got - are they different verbs or the same thing?
Is it always possible to use have got instead of have?
How to form a negative and a question?
Have got - what is it, Present Perfect?

These and many other questions will no longer torment you after you carefully study the material in this article.

In textbooks, the name of the topic under consideration usually looks like this: HAVE (GOT). The presence of parentheses leads students to the misconception that got is an optional element that does not affect anything: say it or not. If you want to show off, then you can get it.

In fact, this approach may work in affirmative sentences, but negative and question forms may suffer. Another misconception is that have and have got completely replace each other in meaning. No, that's not true.

In this article we will examine in detail the main differences in the meanings and forms of the verbs have and have got. And your task is to remember and use them without errors.

When can both forms be used?

First: both forms are used when talking about possession (possession) - “someone has something”:

I have/ have got a car. - I have a car.

He has/has got a big house. - He has a big house.

Differences in Shapes

Constructions can only be confused in the present tense, because have got does not have a past tense form. In the past tense the verb had is used, without got:

He has/has got a girlfriend. - He has a girlfriend. (present)

He had a girlfriend. - He had a girlfriend. (past)

Have got has a contraction and is often contracted in affirmation and negation, and verb have not abbreviated:

I've got a house. - I have a house.

I haven't got a flat. - I don't have an apartment.

He's got a dog. - He has a dog.

He hasn't got a cat. - He doesn't have a cat.

As for the different ones, in the statement significant difference not in the forms.

Have- acts like a regular verb in time, so to form negation and question we need the auxiliary verbs do and does.

Have got- this is not the same as , it is a special, atypical verb of two parts, in which have acts as an auxiliary verb, and got does not change.

Let's consider comparison tables with the forms have and have got :

Statement			Negative Sentence
I we you they	have	have got 've got	I we you they	don't have don't have	have not got haven't got
he she it	has	has got 's got	he she it	does not have doesn't have	has not got hasn't got

Questions and Short Answers
have				have got
Do	I we you they	have?	Yes, I do No, I don't	Have	I we you they	got?	Yes, I have No, I haven't
Does	he she it	have?	Yes, she does No, she doesn't	Has	he she it	got?	Yes, she has No, she has not

Typical mistakes arise when constructing negatives and questions, because many perceive have as a verb that independently forms them, but forget about got.

In speech there are questions and denials constructed in this way, but we will speak according to the rules, not exceptions. Let's remember once and for all that if we start a question with have , then we need got . If the negation is haven’t , then we need got . If there is no got , then the auxiliary verb do or does is needed:

Have you a car? - maybe, but don't say so

Have you got a car? - Right

Do you have a car? - Right

I haven't a brother. - maybe, but don't say so

I haven't got a brother. - Right

I don't have a brother. - Right

We already mentioned that have got does not have a past tense form, so negation and questioning about the past will follow all the rules of the Past Simple tense.

Well, has it become clearer? Now you will always know exactly when you need have and when you have got, you will speak correctly and can teach others!

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English abbreviations- these are abbreviated forms of some parts of speech ( don't, I"m, etc.), which are widely used in colloquial and informal speech and writing.

Abbreviations in English

The table below shows abbreviations in English and examples of their use.

Unabbreviated form	Short form	Example
I am	I"m	I"m (= I am) already here. I'm already here.
I have	I"ve	I"ve (= I have) seen that movie several times. I've watched this movie several times.
I will	I"ll	I"ll (= I will) deal with this. I'll take care of it.
I had / I would	I"d	I"d (= I had) done it by the time you came. I had done it by the time you arrived. I promised you I"d (= I would) do it. I promised you that I would do this.
You are	You"re	You"re (= you are) one of the best students in this class. You are one of the best students in this class.
You have	You"ve	You"ve (= you have) been such a good friend to me. You have been such a good friend to me.
You will	You"ll	You"ll (= you will) see him soon enough. You'll meet him pretty soon.
You had/you would	You'd	You passed the test because you"d (= you had) prepared for it. You passed test work because I prepared for it in advance. You"d (= you would) like it, I"m sure. I'm sure you'd love it.
He is / he has	He's	He"s (= he is) a very talented actor. He is a very talented actor. He "s (= he has) never lied to us. He never lied to us.
He won't	He"ll	He"ll (= he will) show up, he is just running a little late. He will come, he is only a little late.
He had/he would	He"d	He"d (= he had) helped me a lot to finish the work by your arrival. He helped me finish my work before you arrived. He"d (= he would) be very glad to contribute. He would be very happy to help.
She is / she has	She's	She"s (= she is) standing by the window. She is standing by the window. She"s (= she has) got a lot of money. She has a lot of money.
She will	She"ll	She"ll (= she will) come over to our house tonight. She will come to us this evening.
She had / she would	She"d	She"d (= she had) called me before she came. She called before she came. She said that she"d (= she would) give me a call during the lunch-break. She said she would call me during her lunch break.
It is / it has	It's	It"s (= it is) hot today. Today it's hot. It"s (= it has) never been so hot. It has never been so hot before.
We are	We"re	We"re (= we are) coming, we"re almost there. We're on our way, we're almost there.
We have	We"ve	We"ve (= we have) tried to get a hold of you, but failed. We tried to contact you, but were unable to.
We will	We'll	We"ll (= we will) watch over the kids. We'll look after the children.
We had/we would	We"d	We"d (= we had) traveled from Germany to Spain. We traveled from Germany to Spain. We"d (= we would) be much obliged if you helped us. We would be very grateful if you could help us.
They are	They"re	We"re (= we are) going to talk about it next time. We'll talk about this next time.
They have	They"ve	I hear that they"ve (= they have) been told everything. I heard that they were told everything.
They will	They"ll	I hope they"ll (= they will) be on time. I hope they won't be late.
They had / they would	They"d	They"d (= they had) done their work long before I started doing mine. They did their job long before I started mine. I talked to them and they promised they"d (= they would) do everything in their power. I talked to them and they promised that they would do their best.
There is / there has	There's	There"s (=there is) little time left. There is little time left. There"s (= there has) been a very nice Chinese restaurant down the street before, but now it"s gone. There used to be a very good Chinese restaurant on this street, but it's gone now.
There will	There"ll	They say there"ll (= there will) be a new school in our district. They say that a new school will appear in our area.
There had / there would	There"d	There"d (= there had) been many people here before. There used to be a lot of people here. I knew there"d (= the would) be a way. I knew there would be some way out.
Are not	Aren't	They aren't (= are not) here yet. They aren't here yet.
Cannot	Can't	I can"t (= cannot) do it because I am very busy. I can't do this because I'm very busy.
Could not	Couldn't	Why couldn"t (= could not) you come in time? Why couldn't you come on time?
Dare not	Daren"t	I daren"t (= dare not) say it. I don't dare say it.
Didn't	Didn't	Helen says she didn't (= did not) know anything about it. Helen said she knew nothing about it.
Doesn't	Doesn't	He doesn't (= does not) like this book. He doesn't like this book.
Don't	Don't	Whatever you do, just don"t (= do not) touch my antique statuettes. Do what you want, just don’t touch the antique figurines.
Had not	Hadn't	We hadn't (= had not) seen such a beautiful place before we went there. We've never seen anything like this beautiful place before we got there.
Has not	Hasn't	Sam hasn't (= has not) read that magazine yet, give it to him. Sam hasn't read this magazine yet, give it to him.
Have not	Haven't	I haven"t (= have not) finished working yet, give me some more time. I haven't finished working yet, wait a little longer.
Is not	Isn't	I don"t know why he isn"t (= is not) there. I don't know why it's not there.
Might not	Mightn't	You should call him first, he mightn"t (= might not) be home yet. Better call him first, maybe he's not home yet.
Must not	Mustn't	You mustn"t (= must not) work so hard, have a little rest. You can't work so hard, take some rest.
Need not	Needn't	The teacher has said that we needn"t (= need not) do this exercise. Teacher said we don't need to do this exercise.
Ought not	Oughtn't	Tell him that he oughtn"t (= ought not) to speak with his parents like that. Tell him he shouldn't talk to his parents like that.
Shall not	Shan"t	Don"t come tomorrow, I shan"t (= shall not) be able to help you. Don't come tomorrow, I won't be able to help you.
Should not	Shouldn't	We shouldn"t (= should not) hurry, the work should be done very carefully. There is no need to rush, the work must be done very carefully.
Was not	Wasn't	I wasn"t (= was not) ready to go when you called me. I wasn't ready to go when you called.
Were not	Weren't	They weren't (= were not) going to come. They weren't going to come.
Will not	Won't	We won't (= will not) let you down. We won't let you down.
Wouldn't	Wouldn't	If I were you I wouldn't (= would not) underestimate him. If I were you, I wouldn't underestimate him.

Notes:

1. There is a non-standard form in spoken English ain"t, which may be an abbreviation of the forms am not, are not, is not, have not or has not(however, this form has a strong informal connotation):

He ain"t going to come. = He is not going to come.
He won't come.

Don"t talk to me like that – you ain"t my master. = You are not my master.
Don't talk to me like that, you are not my master.

I ain"t got anything to read. = I have not got anything to read.
I have nothing to read.

2. Abbreviations daren"t And shan"t very rarely used in American English.

3. Short for am not is the form aren't(which, unlike the form ain"t, is not colloquial and informal):

I am late, aren't I? (and NOT... amn"t I?)
I'm late, right?

You won’t envy a person learning a foreign language for the first time. A student thinks in his native language and unconsciously tries to transfer the categories, norms and rules of his language into a foreign language. Therefore, when encountering a concept or phenomenon that is absent in native speech, even elementary things seem difficult to perceive.

Often the stumbling block is the verbs am, is, are English language. It is necessary to take time and understand this issue.

Three-headed dragon To be

The verb to be has no analogue in Russian. The fact is that the verb is more of an indicator of person and number than an independent meaning. To be has retained separate forms of singular and plural for the first and third person in the present tense.

Other verbs retained only the ending -s, which is a sign of the 3rd person singular, for example, She speak s. The same verb in conjunction with the 1st and 2nd person pronouns will differ from the initial form to speak only in the absence of the particle to: “I speak” and “You speak”. The verbs am, is, are are forms of to be. You can focus the student’s attention on this by depicting the verb to be in the form of a dragon, and calling its heads Am, Is and Are.

Translation problems

The translation sounds like “is” or “to be.” The most common mistake young students make is trying to translate phrases like “I am Kristian” as “I am Christian.” This is a delicate moment for beginners learning a language. Such reservations should be corrected immediately.

The interaction of native and foreign languages is very important for the learning process, so the translation should always sound competent and in accordance with the norms of the language. In general, everyone should memorize the verbs am, is, are.

When do they say am and is, and when do they say are?

Verbs are used in the present tense. For the past there are the forms was and were; in sentences with the future tense the form will be and very rarely - shall be. You can remember the rules for using forms of the verb to be by studying the table presented below.

As can be seen from the table, the forms am, is, was are used to denote the singular, and are and were - the plural. In modern English shall and will are considered insufficient verbs. Both verbs are used only in the form of the present tense - shall/will, and the past tense - should/would.

Shall in current English is used only in the British version. In shall has retained its modal meaning and is used only in cases where they want to talk about the inevitability of an event. In British English shall is used with the pronouns I and we, and will is used with the pronouns she, he, it. Carefully study the following table, which shows the uses of the verb shall.

Common abbreviations for spoken and written speech

When used in negative sentences, the particle not is added to all forms of the verb to be. The full spelling is rarely used; the abbreviated form of writing the negation is more common:

I am = I"m, I am not = I"m not;
he is = he"s, he is not = he"s not or he isn't;
she is = she"s, she is not = she"s not or she isn't;
it is = it"s, it is not = it"s not or it isn't;
we are = we"re, we are not = we"re not or we aren't;
you are = you"re, you are not = you"re not or you aren't;
they are = they"re, they are not = they"re not or they aren't;
I (he, she, it) was not = I (he, she, it) wasn"t;
we (you, they) were not = we (you, they) weren't.

In common parlance and for writing, the following abbreviations of the forms will and shall are used:

will/shall = "ll;
will not = won't;
shall not = shant"t;
would/should = "d;
would not = wouldn't;
shouldn't = shouldn't.

As you can see, the shortened form for shall in the present and past tenses coincides with will, and in speech the difference between the use of forms has practically disappeared.

"To be or not to be" - that is the question

What does Shakespeare's famous line have to do with it?

To consolidate the rules for using the verbs am, is, are and others in practice, it is worth practicing composing affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences.

Interrogative sentences are the most effective in terms of practicing speech skills. It is necessary to train the use of the verb to be not only in the present, but also in the past and future tenses.

Another way to practice your language skills is to memorize short rhymes and poems. Studying poems in a foreign language will not only expand your knowledge of grammar, but also increase your vocabulary.

Variants of using the verb to be and its forms in speech

In speech, the verb to be can be used both as the main semantic predicate and as a connecting or auxiliary part of a compound predicate.

Here are examples of the most common ways to use a verb in speech:

The verb to be acts as the main predicate in order to emphasize membership in a particular group. For example, Sara is a florist (Sara is a florist) or Alan is my brother (Alan is my brother). In other words, the verb to be does not express an action, but states the state of an object and its belonging.
To be plays the role of the main word in a compound predicate along with adjectives. For example, Jilian is a beautiful young lady (Jilian is a beautiful young girl) or The TV-show is interesting (This TV show is interesting).
The verb is the main predicate in statements indicating a place or geographical location. For example, She is at dinner (She is at dinner) or His flat is in the center (His apartment is located in the center).
To be acts as a predicate in comparative constructions. For example, The light is faster than the sound.
The verb to be can play an auxiliary role in continuous tenses. For example, Present Continuous: They are sitting on the ground (They are now sitting on the ground); Past Continuous: We were watching the TV-show when she telephoned (When she called, we were watching the TV show); Future Continuous: Jilly will be singing tonight.
The verb is used to express passive tenses. In such sentences, to be is conjugated in the required tense. The semantic verb is always used in the form of the past participle - Past Participle. The form of all sentences with passive voice is the same: Passive Subject + To Be + Past Participle. For example, Past Perfect: The breakfast had been eaten before she arrived (Breakfast was eaten before she arrived) or Past Simple: His car was bought in 1995 (His car was bought in 1995).

The verb to be plays a huge role in the English language. Correct use of verb forms is necessary for beautiful and correct speech.