27/11/2025
Sound Like a Local: American English Short-forms! 🇺🇸
Want to speak more naturally? Master these common informal contractions and "reductions"!
Knowing these will help you understand spoken English better and sound more natural yourself. Just remember, they're best for casual chats, not formal writing! 😉
Here's a quick cheat sheet with some of the most common ones:
Gonna (Going to)
Wanna (Want to / Want a)
Gotta (Got to / Have to)
Hafta (Have to)
Gimme (Give me)
Lemme (Let me)
Kinda (Kind of)
Sorta (Sort of)
Dunno (Don't know)
Outta (Out of)
C’mon (Come on)
Lotsa (Lots of)
Whatcha (What are you / What have you)
Past Modals:
Coulda (Could have)
Shoulda (Should have)
Woulda (Would have)
Musta (Must have)
What's your favorite informal contraction to use or hear? Let us know in the comments! 👇