American English feature
American reductions: gonna, wanna, gotta and kinda
In relaxed speech, Americans squeeze common word pairs together: going to becomes “gonna”, want to becomes “wanna”, got to becomes “gotta”. Almost everyone does it, in almost every conversation.
They're spoken forms. You'll hear them from teachers, newscasters and CEOs, but outside texts and chat you'll rarely see them written.
gonna
reductions
How to do it
- 1Keep the important words strong and let the small words shrink.
- 2Reduce the vowels of small words to schwa: to → tə, for → fɚ, and → ən.
- 3Run the reduced words into the next word without a pause.
- 4Use the reduction only where it fits (see below): gonna is for the future, never for going to a place.
When it happens
Tap an example to hear it said naturally.
gonna = going to + a verb
Only for the future: going to do something.
wanna = want to
With I, you, we and they. He wants to stays “wants to”.
gotta = (have) got to
Must, in casual speech.
hafta = have to
The v of have turns into an f before to.
kinda, sorta = kind of, sort of
Of shrinks to a schwa.
lemme, gimme = let me, give me
The t or v disappears into the m.
Weak small words
And, to, for, of and can are almost never said in full in the middle of a sentence.
When it doesn't
Going to a place
“I'm going to the store” never becomes gonna: here going to means moving somewhere.
Formal writing
Write going to, want to and got to in emails, essays and reports, even if you say gonna.
Common mistakes
Gonna for places
“I'm gonna the store” is wrong. Gonna only replaces going to before a verb.
Writing them in formal text
Say gonna, write going to.
Stressing the small words
A strong “I CAN go” sounds like can't, or like you're insisting. Keep can weak: “I kən go”.
Try it
“I'm gonna have to call you back. I wanna finish this first.”
Record a sentence and get a score for every sound. Free, no account.
Questions
Is “gonna” bad English?
No. It's how going to is normally pronounced in American speech, in every social group. It's only out of place in formal writing.
How do I hear the difference between can and can't?
In a sentence, can is weak and short (“I kən go”), while can't is strong, with a full “a” as in cat and a cut-off t: “I CAN'T go”. Listen for the stress, more than for the t.