Tefl.NET Forums

This is something that a French friend, who speaks excellent English, asked me the other day but I couldn't give her a definite answer (I'm new to TEFL and studying grammar!). In written English when the question "What's your name?" is posed, is it good grammer to write "My name's ....." as opposed to "My name is ......."?

Although "My name's..." is grammatically correct, it wouldn't be considered proper or formal English.

"My name's..." is more a slang pronunciation than a written form.

Hi ya..

Greetings from Shanghai, China.. and my name is Brian Walthers. Feel free to call me Brian.

You answered your own question.. My name is.. vs. My names' ... one is slang and the other is common.. I think the formal way to introduce yourself is.. I am...

Hello.. Nice to meet you.. I am ....

Take care
Brian

I didn't pose a question.

SakuraGirl wrote:I didn't pose a question.

I Think he was refering to the one who made the topic.

Anyways, "My name is" would be the proper of the two, and the latter is informal.

The simple but confusing answer is: both are correct!

We can use both versions in written or spoken English.

In spoke English, "my name's" is preferred. It is faster an eliminate an entire syllable.

In formal or academic written English, "my name is" is preferred. Many professors will outlaw the use of contractions in academic English.

For everyday written English, both versions are fine. ESL textbooks generally teach both and make sure students know that they both have the same meaning.

The previous post saying that we normally say, "I am" is also correct. Many native speakers alternate between

"Hello, I'm Heather." and "Hello, my name's Heather."

For more information on speaking fluency and formal vs. informal speech - you can see these two detailed lesson plans:

Speaking with Fluency I

http://www.associatedcontent.com/articl ... html?cat=4

Speaking with Fluency II
http://www.associatedcontent.com/articl ... html?cat=4

On my course we, and all the text books, used the "My name's" version of everything. We never used "Would not" but always "Wouldn't". I personally found that unbelievable, but considering that the other teacher wasn't British and made collocation errors all the time (i.e. she claimed that underneath To Whom It May Concern, you write Dear Sirs) that doesn't surprise me. I don't think my course was very professional. The owners were only interested in running it as a business. I was amazed to learn it was a franchise.

The thing is, we were never told. Everything was haphazard, nothing followed logic. I was supposed to remember all the students, their names and abilities after having taught them once, a month ago. I made changes to my lesson plan according to how the teacher at the time wanted it to be. I was then downgraded for having done just that. But, I thought that the less noise I make, the better my chances of passing. I am getting my own back now.

Hi
I have been teaching french students in immersion courses, mostly aged 11 to 16 and all of them are using contractions e.g. can't, couldn't, name's etc etc. This has led me to believe that this is how they are taught here at school in France. They understand where the contraction has come from, but always offer the contraction, not the whole words, as an answer. And if that is the french way......?
Fran Nustedt

In general,

my name is would be preferable in written English, and my name's used in spoken English. It is NOT slang, it's just a contraction.

Same goes for wouldn't vs would not.

Dan O'Donnell

I think when speaking there is no problem using my name's or my name is but in writing we should use my name is :)

While writing "My name is" is correct and it should be wriiten like that.It is a formal way of writing .
While saying,it is heard as "My name's",here "name" and "is" are compressed.If written,it becomes informal.

Read what's written: One mistake my Kazakhstani student frequently make in reading out loud is to say the contracted version when what is written is the full version (or, less frequently, the reverse). This is something that is hard to break.

"My name's" is certainly not slang, as a couple of people have stated. It's just a short form.

It's not inferior to the full form "My name is", and there's no implication that by using it the speaker is being lazy or even informal. It's a standard form and it's perfectly acceptable in every written or spoken mode of modern English - including letters or emails to authorities, job applications and the likes.

I do sometimes find that students prefer to use the full form when reading aloud, even when they see the contracted form. There's a sense that it's superior somehow, possibly as a result of teachers throwing their weight around. It's the same kind of nonsense you get with 'don't split the infinitive' or 'never end a sentence with a preposition' - rules for their own sake, absolutely unnecessary, restrictive.

Save your strict rule-adherence to things like 'their', 'they're' and 'there', or 'your' and 'you're' (which in my experience are areas where native speakers are more likely to have difficulties than even low-level students).

Hi
"My name's" more informal... and conversational... my name is''' is always better.

Yes, they are both fine. "my name's.." is a contraction of "my name is". You can use either you like.

Yes, they are both fine. "my name's.." is a contraction of "my name is". You can use either you like.
DGCustomerFirst.com $100 gift card