Hi, everybody! I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.

In this episode:

• I'd like to help you to understand how to use words like Gonna, Wanna, Gotta, and similar.

• Later, a point of view story to practice your English grammar, and consolidate the information that I'll be teaching in the first part.

Let's get started!

Are you confused about how and when to use the words GONNA, WANNA, and GOTTA?

We refer to these kinds of words as contractions.

What's a contraction?

A contraction is created when two words in a row come together and become one.

For example:

I am= I'm

It is = It's

Do not = Don't

Will not= Won't

These are some contractions which are accepted as grammatically correct and are taught in all English courses.

However, in this lesson, I'll focus on the informal contractions. These are not taught in grammar books because their use is mostly colloquial.

For example:

If you say going to really fast, you can shorten it to GONNA by dropping the final sound. If you say want to really fast, it shortens to WANNA. These are informal contractions.

You probably noticed that the grammatically correct English we learn in school is not the same as the colloquial English in the street. However, informal contractions are very common in colloquial English.

That’s why you should familiarize yourself with them. You don't need to start using them right away. The most important step is to make sure that you understand how to use these informal contractions.

Many conventional teachers sustain that it's wrong or inappropriate to use these colloquial contractions when speaking English in formal situations.

But let me tell you that words like "gonna," "wanna," and "gotta" are perfectly OK to use in all spoken situations, both formal and informal.

In the US, everyone seems to use "gonna" and "wanna"; even highly educated people use these words several times a day. People in business meetings, professors giving lectures, everyone.

So, don't worry. You can also use them, and you'll sound just like an American.

And now, let's see some examples:

GONNA= "Going to" in the simple future.

Avoid making Common mistakes with Gonna:

Some students say "I gonna" or "I'm gonna to" it's incorrect! The correct form is always "I'm gonna".

Examples:

I'm gonna go to work.

I'm gonna eat a burger.

She's gonna call me back. I'm gonna help my friends.

WANNA=want + verb

(but it can be followed by a verb or a noun)

Let’s hear some examples with wanna + verb:

"I want to have fun." "I wanna have fun." "I want to eat dinner."

"I wanna eat dinner."

Wanna=want + noun (I want a)

Now some examples with wanna + noun:

"I want a new car."

"I wanna new car."

"I want a book."

"I wanna book."

Sometimes you'll notice that the subject in the beginning disappears:

Instead of saying, "Do you wanna stay?"

you might listen to an American say: "Wanna stay?"

or "You wanna stay?"

Awesome! Let’s continue with gotta.

GOTTA – is short for "I've got to." Or "got to."

With a verb:

"I gotta go now."

"I gotta be there in 10 minutes."

And now some examples with gotta + noun:

"I gotta new car."

"I gotta cell phone." "She hasn't gotta penny." "Have you gotta job?"

Let’s learn some new words:

Doncha,

(don’t cha, dontcha=Don't you?)

You know this song right? 🙂

Examples:

Doncha wanna come with me?

You're really enjoying yourself. Doncha?

Doncha, like the movie?

Kinda=kind of

I kinda like her.

What kinda music do you like?

It's kinda selfish, doncha think?

My mom says I kinda look like him.

Try to say let me really fast. You will end up with LEMME.

Lemme= let me

Examples:

Lemme get you a drink.

Lemme see it!

Lemme go!

Hey, lemme pay you back tomorrow, OK?

Let’s continue with…

Dunno=Don't know

I dunno what time it is. Who did it? I dunno! I dunno, maybe he's telling the truth.

Ok, you’re learning so fast! I’ve got two more contractions for you today.

Let’s go!

WhaTcha / what' cha = what are you/what you/what do you

Whatcha gonna do? = What are you going to do?

Do whatcha gotta do! = Do what you have to do!

Whatcha wanna do now? = What do you want to do now?

Whatcha want? = What do you want?

Whatcha doing? = What are you doing?

Ok, and the last one is…

This one is simple. Don’t say because, just say ‘cos.

'Cos = because

I'm sad, 'cos my girlfriend left me. They canceled the trip' cos of the snow.

I love ya 'cos you're pretty.

I hope that you're enjoying today's episode. As you can see, it's not so easy to understand English unless you start listening to real conversations. Once you get familiarized with the informal contractions, you'll have less difficulty understanding songs and movies in English.

By the way, you can get the transcript of today's episode at SpeakEnglishPodcast.com

Let's move on to the next section.