# gonna



## Thomas Bastidas

hello to all.
if any person can help me i´ll be very happy.
"gonna" es una contracción de "go on a"?
Se les agradecerá, es mi primera pregunta aquí.
 thanks!!


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## Citizen86

It's a type of slang for "going to". I am going to go to the store, or I'm gonna go to the store.


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## Vela

True... _Gonna _means _going to_, though I wouldn't say it's slang, because it's widely used, especially in the USA. Of course, it's a very informal word.


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## Big Papi

Hi Thomas.  Welcome to the forum.

"gonna" is simply "going to".  It is a written form of the spoken informal abbreviation of "going to" used in everyday speech, probably used more by us in the US rather than our English-speaking friends across the pond.   

I'm going to try. = I'm gonna try.

¡Saludos!


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## divina

Es muy coloquial. You wouldn't use the word "gonna" in a paper for school, for example.


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## kuklagirl4

yea its slang for going to be or do

ex: am gonna throw the ball
or am gonna be his girlfriend


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## argosdex

gonna = going to
hafta =  have to
wanna =  want to
oughta = oght to
musta = must have
shoulda/should of = should have
woulda = would have


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## kuklagirl4

i agree with argosdex

take note on that


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## bigzaqui

but the "gonna" can't be write, isn't? is not correct, you only can say talking with your friends or something like that, you can't use it in a formal conversation

bye!


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## argosdex

That depends on your definition of "formal" they are certainly used in veryday language in a business environment, they are commonly not used at higher social levels, but nowadays there are many wealthy people that grew up in working class neighborhoods so their speech is often not "polished".

You would NOT use these terms in writing, with the exception of fiction novels or if you are quoting someone, but they are NOT suitable for business correspondence.


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## Limeade

Hi

Even though it's used all the time it's considered slang. It is not proper English. You would not write it on anything official or write it at all for that matter. I would not use it on a job interview to become the president of a company.


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## mhp

Limeade said:


> I would not use it on a job interview to become the president of a company.


  Or for that matter for the janitor job; but again, if instead of saying “I’m gonna work hard” you say “I’m going to do my best” to the president of the company, you may not get the janitor job because he’ll be concerned that you’ll be occupying his post in no time


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## Limeade

Es verdad!


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## old dog

argosdex said:


> gonna = going to
> hafta =  have to
> wanna =  want to
> oughta = oght to
> musta = must have
> shoulda/should of = should have
> woulda = would have



Cuidado!

People who did not grow up speaking English should never use these words.....it sounds really bad when they do. (In reality, nobody should use them, but we all do from time to time...)


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## Pannadol

Tonight I'm gonna go out.
Esta noche voy a salir. 

..Por ejemplo.


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## geostan

bigzaqui said:


> but the "gonna" can't be write, isn't? is not correct, you only can say talking with your friends or something like that, you can't use it in a formal conversation
> 
> bye!



Gonna is sloppy English. Unfortunately, unless a native speaker makes a deliberate effort not to use it, it becomes part of his spoken language. He's "gonna" hear it all the time.

You should never use it in writing. Any teacher reading it, unless he is extremely liberal, will draw your attention to it.

Note, however, that it is only used as a semi-auxiliary verb. While you will hear it in:

I'm gonna help my parents this afternoon.

you would not likely hear it in

I'm going to school in five minutes. (I'm gonna school.???)

I try not to use it, but I'm sure I do when I'm tired or not thinking straight.


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## Pannadol

It is used a LOT in Australian English at least - of course not in written but spoken all the time. Except we pronounce it more liker "gunna"


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## Thomas Bastidas

I`m really very happy for your replays.
I will learn a lot of English with your help.
Thank you very very much.
Rodrigo (Thomas Bastidas).


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## Reina140

Pannadol said:


> It is used a LOT in Australian English at least - of course not in written but spoken all the time. Except we pronounce it more liker "gunna"


 
Yes, Pannadol, we say it like "gunna" also.


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## Marias-espanol

old dog said:


> Cuidado!
> 
> People who did not grow up speaking English should never use these words.....it sounds really bad when they do. (In reality, nobody should use them, but we all do from time to time...)


 
   I agree, it is slang (the improper usage of the English Language).
A teacher of mine told the class that if you wanted to seem smart not to use them. We all do.

Yeah is slang for "yes"

When we learn a new language slang is not taught.  I was told that when a friend of mine came to  the U.S. it was hard for him to understand.  He had to get used to all the slang.  So now I try real hard not to use it.  It is hard not to because it we have used all of our lives and it seems correct. Even though it is not.


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## Jigoku no Tenshi

Marias-espanol said:


> I agree, it is slang (the improper usage of the English Language).
> A teacher of mine told the class that if you wanted to seem smart not to use them. We all do.
> When we learn a new language slang is not taught. I was told that when a friend of mine came to the U.S. it was hard for him to understand. He had to get used to all the slang. So now I try real hard not to use it. It is hard not to because it we have used all of our lives and it seems correct. Even though it is not.


 


old dog said:


> Cuidado!
> 
> People who did not grow up speaking English should never use these words.....it sounds really bad when they do. (In reality, nobody should use them, but we all do from time to time...)


 
I gotta say this, I mean I have to say this:

I'm not a native speaker and I know that everybody should try speak English the best you can do, however I started learning English because of the music, so I use a lot of slang like "gonna", "wanna"(but I use "wants to" in third person) because is easier to me to say them that way, and I've never been corrected for pronunciation so I think I don't sound bad at all. 

Anyway, my advice would be that You Should use "going to", "want to", and all the others since you start learning English, because is the right thing to do and because I've had a hard time trying to get rid of that bad habit, and I still use "gonna" most of the time, so you have to learn slang to understand it but you must avoid using them If you want to talk right


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## Reinita

If you listen carefully to Americans speaking, you will hear that even in fairly formal situations, they *very *seldom say "going to" if they could use "gonna." Conversely, you very seldom will see "gonna" in print. 

I made the former observation when I began working with someone who actually did say "going to" instead of "gonna". It sounded stilted and English-teachery, but classy. 

I made the latter observation while working as a news reporter. I quoted my subjects exactly and the copy editors always changed "gonna" to "going to." I protested, arguing, "But they _said _'gonna'!" But the editors pointed out (and I concurred) that what sounds natural in speech looks ignorant on paper. 

Another, related slang term is "Imunna"--literally "I'm going to," it's a contraction of "I'm" and "gonna." I have NEVER seen that in print (in fact, I wasn't really sure how I should spell it) but I hear it everywhere and say it frequently.


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## Marias-espanol

Hola Jigoku no Tenshi,
Yes I agree if you want to understand, you should learn it.  It is easier to say them, that is why most of us do it, I think.  You will be understood and no one will correct you, (unless they are an English Teacher), Because we are so used to hearing it, and useing it, it sounds fine to us.  We get into the habbit before we start school and it is hard to break.  I had to stop and listen to myself, because I didn't even reliaze I was useing it after my friend said something about it.
Maria


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## Soy Yo

Whatcha gonna do when the well runs dry?  I'm gonna sit right down and cry!


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## roxcyn

What?!  I cannot believe some of you said not to use it.  I am an ESOL tutor and when my student was practicing going to construction, I had her practice gonna.  Every native speaker whether they like it or not, uses gonna at some point or another.  It is because the words run together just like in Spanish.  Anyhow, an example would be  athonde bas bos? (¿a dónde vas vos?)  the words run together but that doesn't mean we spell it like that.  In fact, I know many people who use "gonna" but when they write something down, they will write going to.  So you can say it either way, going to OR gonna, especially in every day speech.


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## Mafe Dongo

roxcyn said:


> What?! I cannot believe some of you said not to use it. I am an ESOL tutor and when my student was practicing going to construction, I had her practice gonna. Every native speaker whether they like it or not, uses gonna at some point or another. It is because the words run together just like in Spanish. Anyhow, an example would be athonde bas bos? (¿a dónde vas vos?) the words run together but that doesn't mean we spell it like that. In fact, I know many people who use "gonna" but when they write something down, they will write going to. So you can say it either way, going to OR gonna, especially in every day speech.


 
1. In conversational English (informal spoken language/colloquial) we use contractions a lot. It is very common; However, the use of them will not make you sound like "a native speaker" if you are not. I am not a native speaker. In school, ESL Teacher will teach contractions, so you know what they are, but they will never tell you to use them..because you'll sound more native. I think with the time you get used to listen to them and you start using them ONLY in a conversational way, not in writing.

2.In Spanish we will NEVER EVER not do something like what you explained before!


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## mhp

Mafe Dongo said:


> In Spanish we will EVER NEVER not never ever do something like what you explained before!


  I agree with you except for this last observation 

  Spoken Spanish is full of contractions; for this reason, a lot of people mistakenly write “va haber una fiesta mañana” instead of “va a haber una fiesta mañana” they simply do not say that middle /a/. It is natural to run things together when speaking or otherwise you sound like a robot. I agree that the way a sentence is pronounced should not be used when writing, unless you want to convey certain effects.


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## Mafe Dongo

Thank you for the correction!!!
What I meant was the example she gave. ROXYN: "Anyhow, an example would be athonde bas bos? (¿a dónde vas vos?" 
In spoken Spanish we DO use not only contraction, but its true we speak fast and not all the time pronounce every single word... When we write, its NOT correct to write run-on sentences or anything like that.


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