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Is there anything wrong with mixing contracted with uncontracted phrases in the same sentence?

Examples:

I'm not sure it is possible.

("I'm" is contracted, but "it is" is not).

I am not sure it's possible.

("I am" is not contracted, but "it's" is).

I know that it is not grammatically incorrect. But is it not recommended? Or is there any other reason to not use it?

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3 Answers 3

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Is there anything wrong with mixing contracted with uncontracted phrases in the same sentence?

No, there isn't. You can freely write a word contracting it, and write another one without to contract it. As reported by Mr. Shiny and New, sometimes a word is written without to contract it to put emphasize on it.

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One valid use is when you want to emphasize one word:

I am NOT sure it's possible

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Is there anything wrong with mixing contracted with uncontracted phrases in the same sentence?

It's perfectly fine to mix contracted and uncontracted forms and you find occurrences of it in reliable sources, but the tendency is to be consistent.

Take a look at the examples here.

I'm not sure it is possible to think too much. (The Guardian)

and

I'm not sure it's possible to be anything but naive when moving abroad. (The Guardian)

Full disclosure, I work at Ludwig.guru

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    FYI, Stack Exchange has detailed guidelines on how to refer to your own stuff in answers (including your employer). You've done it right, for the record, but I wanted to explicitly link them so you have something to refer to if you need them.
    – anon
    Commented Jul 10, 2019 at 17:24
  • I amended the link. Is it fine now?
    – Antonio Rotolo
    Commented Jul 11, 2019 at 12:35
  • I mean, it was fine before, too, but yes, it continues to be fine now :)
    – anon
    Commented Jul 11, 2019 at 13:59

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