Shortform
“could” in braille
Written c-d — 5 letters cut to 2 letters of abbreviation, then written in 2 cells. That is 3 cells saved every time the word appears.
dots 1-4, then dots 1-4-5
Unicode ⠉⠙ — 5 letters in 2 cells
How to recognise it
c-d, and it belongs with “would” and “should” — each is the word’s opening sound plus a d. All three keep their cells before an added s, as every shortform but three does, and in the forms the Shortforms List names, among them “couldest” and “couldn't”.
Two steps, not one
Abbreviated in letters first, then written in cells. “could” loses 3 letters — o, u, l — to become cd. Every letter of the abbreviation is then written as itself, one cell each.
| Stage | What it is | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Spelled out | could | 5 cells |
| Abbreviated | cd | 2 letters |
| Written | 2 cells |
Longer words that keep it
For “could” the Shortforms List (Rules of Unified English Braille, Appendix 1) names six longer words that keep it: coulda ⠉⠙⠁, couldst ⠉⠙⠌, could've ⠉⠙⠄⠧⠑, couldest ⠉⠙⠑⠌, couldn't ⠉⠙⠝⠄⠞ and couldn't've ⠉⠙⠝⠄⠞⠄⠧⠑. A longer word that is not on the list is spelled out. An added s keeps the cells as well: “coulds” is ⠉⠙⠎ (10.9.5).
| Word | In braille | Ending | Cells |
|---|---|---|---|
| couldest | -est | 4 cells |
Words that only look like it
couldn't and could've are on the Shortforms List and keep the shortform: ⠉⠙⠝⠄⠞ and ⠉⠙⠄⠧⠑. Without the apostrophe the word is no longer the listed one, and the spellings below are written out in full.
| Word | In braille | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| couldn | 5 cells | |
| couldnt | 6 cells | |
| couldna | 6 cells |
Learn it with the modal shortforms
This is one of 3 shortforms built to the same shape — the opening sound, then a d: should (shd), would (wd).
What these 2 cells mean elsewhere
Every cell here has other jobs, which is where misreadings come from:
| Cell | Dots | What it is elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | the letter c; the word “can” standing alone | |
| 1-4-5 | the letter d; the word “do” standing alone |
In a whole book
In a count over the whole of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (26,439 words), this contraction is written 83 times and saves 249 cells. That is 0.72% of everything Grade 2 saves in the book, and ranks it 40th of the 158 contractions used.
The words it is written in: could (74), couldn't (9).
Check your own text
The translator writes “could” with Grade 2 selected, and the contractions page has all seventy-five.
“could” in braille as an image
The word as it is actually written: cd in 2 cells, not 5 letters.
