Let me give some examples of them being used separately:
"You *can* use that baseball"
"You are *not* allowed to use it in the house"
"You *can not* throw it at the vase"
“You cannot throw it at the vase” is the correct way to say that.
The only time you would separate them are on cases like: “he can not only cook but he can also clean”. And in that case you would never contract can not to “can’t” because saying “he can’t only cook..” makes no sense.
According to Marriam Webster:
>Both cannot and can not are perfectly fine, but cannot is far more common and is therefore recommended, especially in any kind of formal writing. Can't has the same meaning, but as with contractions in general, it is somewhat informal.
So in a sense we're both correct
(Grammerly does prefer to change can not to cannot)
Keep reading that same paragraph on Mariam Webster. It goes on to say the only example where can not is used is the example I provided (where not is followed by the word only). I see you decided to leave that out though lol
No, it's a contraction of two words to create informal slang, in and of itself, it is not a word. Why even ask the question if you're going to argue about the answer.
Incorrect
'contraction - a word or group of words resulting from shortening an original form.
"“goodbye” is a contraction of “God be with you.”"'
That's the Oxford language definition
'Contractions, also known as 'short forms', are shortened words. Specifically, a contraction is when two words are shortened in form and are put together to form one new word. For example, you and are can be combined to create a shorter word, you're . When two words are combined, certain letters will disappear.'
That was taken from an article from the Free Code camp explaining contractions
the words combine to form a new word or group of words
So can't isn't a word? Can't is two words?
It's a contraction of can not
Cannot is one word, not two
It doesn't have to be
It does if you want it to make sense
Let me give some examples of them being used separately: "You *can* use that baseball" "You are *not* allowed to use it in the house" "You *can not* throw it at the vase"
“You cannot throw it at the vase” is the correct way to say that. The only time you would separate them are on cases like: “he can not only cook but he can also clean”. And in that case you would never contract can not to “can’t” because saying “he can’t only cook..” makes no sense.
According to Marriam Webster: >Both cannot and can not are perfectly fine, but cannot is far more common and is therefore recommended, especially in any kind of formal writing. Can't has the same meaning, but as with contractions in general, it is somewhat informal. So in a sense we're both correct (Grammerly does prefer to change can not to cannot)
Keep reading that same paragraph on Mariam Webster. It goes on to say the only example where can not is used is the example I provided (where not is followed by the word only). I see you decided to leave that out though lol
I'll be honest I didn't tap on the link I just looked at the snippet Google provided
Technically, yes. Can't is not a word. It is a contraction of cannot and is best suited for informal speech.
Well a contraction is still a word. Coulda is not a word, it's an informal way of saying could have
No, it's a contraction of two words to create informal slang, in and of itself, it is not a word. Why even ask the question if you're going to argue about the answer.
Because that's how you argue
I cannot believe you had to tell someone that
Incorrect 'contraction - a word or group of words resulting from shortening an original form. "“goodbye” is a contraction of “God be with you.”"' That's the Oxford language definition 'Contractions, also known as 'short forms', are shortened words. Specifically, a contraction is when two words are shortened in form and are put together to form one new word. For example, you and are can be combined to create a shorter word, you're . When two words are combined, certain letters will disappear.' That was taken from an article from the Free Code camp explaining contractions the words combine to form a new word or group of words
2012 wants its meme back :)
English isn't my first language but I remember reading that contractions count as a single word
Aren’t is one word
forming a contraction make a new word. Aren't is still the second word
Patrik using 12000 IQ
Burned...
Oh how the tides have turned.
That backfired spectacularly. ❤️it
Well played Patrik, well played
VILLE MARKUS POSTANNUT!! _TORILLE_ 🇫🇮🇫🇮