Strong Contractions

One-cell shortcuts for the most common words.

Learn

Some of the most common words in English get their own unique one-cell contraction: and, for, of, the, and with. These patterns don’t match any letter — they’re shapes of their own.

Because these words appear so often, learning them gives an immediate reading-speed boost.

anddots 1 2 3 4 6
fordots 1 2 3 4 5 6
ofdots 1 2 3 5 6
thedots 2 3 4 6
withdots 2 3 4 5 6

Your Turn

Write It Yourself

Braille is read by touch and written dot by dot. Recreate each character below in the writer — the best way to make it stick.

and — current
for
of
the
with

Character 1 of 5

Write:and

Keys F D S and J K L (or 1–6) raise dots · Enter checks

Practice

Keep Practicing — Contraction Sprint

Finish writing the characters above, then this practice activity will help it stick.

Tip These five words alone make up a big share of everyday text.