In fast, informal spoken English, certain words blend together into contractions called "merged words" or "reductions". Understanding them is essential for listening comprehension of native speakers, films, and podcasts — even if you would not write or produce them yourself in formal contexts.
"Gonna" = going to (future plans): "I'm gonna call him later." "Wanna" = want to (desires): "Do you wanna come?" "Gotta" = have got to / have to (obligation): "I've gotta go." These are very common in informal speech and informal writing (text messages, song lyrics). They are never appropriate in professional or academic contexts.
Practice
"I've gotta finish this report by 5." What does "gotta" mean here?
"I'morder some pizza. Are you hungry?" (informal)
Put the words in the correct order (informal):
"Lemme" = let me: "Lemme try." "Dunno" = don't know / I don't know: "Dunno, maybe?" "Gimme" = give me: "Gimme a sec." "Gotcha" = I got you / I understand / got you (caught): "Gotcha, understood." These are extremely informal and mainly appear in casual speech and informal written media like social media and text messages.
Practice
"Dunno" is a casual reduction of ___.
"a break — I need five minutes." (= give me)
Match the reduction to its meaning — put the sentence in order:
"Coulda" = could have, "woulda" = would have, "shoulda" = should have. These express hypothetical or regretful past situations: "I shoulda called first." "It woulda been better." "I coulda handled it differently." They are informal spoken versions of modal perfects. The phrase "woulda, coulda, shoulda" is used idiomatically to mean dwelling on regrets that can't be changed.
Practice
"I shoulda studied more." What is the formal equivalent?
"Youtold me earlier!" (formal: should have)
Rewrite formally — put in the correct order: