7 Informal Contractions
WANNA know what GONNA means? LEMME show you.
Have you seen words like "gonna" or "wanna" and wondered what they mean? Perhaps you have looked in a dictionary and been unable to find them. That's because these words are "informal contractions" or short forms of other words that people use when speaking informally. They are not exactly slang, but they are a little like slang. In fact, if you look in a good (big) dictionary, you will usually find them.
Here are the 7 most common informal contractions, with example sentences:
1. GIMME = give me
Gimme your money.
Don't gimme that rubbish.
Can you gimme a hand?
2. GONNA = going to
Nothing's gonna change my love for you.
I'm not gonna tell you.
What are you gonna do?
3a. GOTTA = (have) got a
I've gotta gun.
I gotta gun.
She hasn't gotta penny.
Have you gotta car?
3b. GOTTA = (have) got to
I've gotta go now.
I gotta go now.
We haven't gotta do that.
Have they gotta work?
4. INIT = isn't it
That's smart, init?
Init strange?
5. KINDA = kind of
She's kinda cute.
Are you kinda mad at me?
6. LEMME = let me
Lemme go!
He didn't lemme see it.
7a. WANNA = want to
I wanna go home.
I don't wanna go.
Do you wanna watch TV?
7b. WANNA = want a
I wanna coffee.
I don't wanna thing from you.
Do you wanna beer?
Please remember that these are *informal* contractions. That means that we do not use them in "correct" speech, and we almost never use them in writing. We use them only when speaking fast and informally, for example with friends. Also, the sentences above may be a little artificial because when we use a contraction like "wanna", we probably also use other contractions in the same sentence, as follows:
Do you want a beer?
Do you wanna beer?
D'you wanna beer?
D'ya wanna beer?
Ya wanna beer?
Wanna beer?
Contributor: Josef Essberger