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?
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