For example why does it sound unnatural to say “I’ll not use this for profit.”?
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It’s formality Vs informality along with certain phonetic combinations being less common than others, AFAIK
Because the correct use of “I’ll not” is “I wont”. That’s why it sounds unnatural, grammatically speaking.
ETA: I teach English in Europe and I tell my students that they can use those contractions while speaking, but not while writing, because it’s harder to convey tone that way. They should also never use it in a formal letter.
In English, contractions aren’t mandatory per se. The only difference between contracted and uncontracted is formality, the latter being more formal than the former
That phrase sounds unnatural because it’s common to contract “I will not” to “I won’t” instead of “I’ll not”.
You also want to avoid having “I’ll” be a phrase all on its own. Something like “If she doesn’t, I’ll” sounds awkward. You have to have more to say about what it is you will be doing.
Make sure they understand that “I will,” as a complete sentence, should never be contracted to “I’ll.”
Otherwise, the nuance between “I’ll” and “I will” is so minor as to be barely worthy of mention. Neither is incorrect.
Mostly because English has another contraction that’s used for the negative exclusively: won’t.
Other than that, a simple rule of thumb I’d give is to use “I will” when you’re at all trying to emphasize your commitment/desire to do the thing.
In a spoken sentence, “I’ll” has no stress at all, and the “‘ll” is purely a function word. It’ll sound like the main point of your sentence is the thing that you’ll do, not the fact that you’re reassuring the other speaker that you’re going to do it.
Another use case for “I will” is as a response if you’re asked whether you’re going to do something. “I will” can stand on its own as a sentence (or an independent clause), whereas “I’ll” cannot.
Every language has fast versions that show up in casual speech. That’s contractions in English. Everyone has a basic understanding of how this works. If you have a native French speaker, they’ll be familiar with dropping the ‘ne’ in negation because it’s not necessary for understanding, so you cut it. But not in writing or formal speech.
The context for when to use fast versions is pretty universal. There are some differences across generations in some cultures, etc. but by and large if you let them know that’s fast English, they’ll get it right most of the time.
That said, ‘I’ll not’ is contextually acceptable in many places. It’s a slightly more polite way to express opposition – less defiant, more considered – than ‘I won’t’.
I personally wouldn’t.
I would assure them that as they got more comfortable with the language, it will come naturally to them. Until then, as long as the person they are talking to understands what they’re trying to say, then they are good
Your example is brilliant,
To be honest, I don’t know that any sort of rule applies to “I’ll not use this for profit.” you just sort of have to know that its wrong.
“I’ll use this for profit” sounds absolutely fine
And so does “I will not use this for profit”.
I wouldn’t sweat it, *unless you’re a Russian Sleeper, and don’t want to be caught*.
Most people will know what you mean.
in addition to all the great answers here, don’t use the contraction when the word being lost is the focus of the section.
for example, i have a foreign friend who will respond with: “I’m” in answer to a question. as in: “are you in work today?”, “I’m”. this is wrong, the stressed word in the full sentence is “am”, so contraction is wrong.
also if you want to put particular emphasis on a word, don’t contract. for example, Cinderella might say: “i will go the ball!”. contracting that to “I’ll go to the ball” makes it much more of a normal occasion.
so basically, don’t contract the word away if there’s focus or stress on the word.
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