Contractions: Common Informal Contractions in English You Need to Know

Informal contractions are short forms of other words that people use when speaking casually. They are not exactly slang, but they are a little like slang. For example, “gonna” is a short form of “going to“. If you say going to very fast, without carefully pronouncing each word, it can sound like gonna.

Common Informal Contractions

List of common informal contractions in English

1. Ain’t = Am not/are not/is not
E.g. I ain’t sure.

2. Ain’t = Has not/have not
E.g. He ain’t finished yet.

3. Wanna = Want to
E.g. I wanna go home.

4. Wanna = Want a
E.g. I wanna coffee.

5. Whatcha = What have you
E.g. Whatcha got there?

6. Kinda = Kind of
E.g. She’s kinda cute.

7. Sorta = Sort of
E.g. I’m sorta tired

8. Outta = Out of
E.g. I’m outta money.

….

• Give me – gimme – Gimme five minutes.
• Let me – lemme – Lemme see it!
• Tell them – Tellem – Tellem I’ll be there soon.
• Don’t know – dunno – I dunno what time it is.
• Got a – gotta – I gotta new job.
• Come on – c’mon – C’mon! We don’t want to be late!
• Some more – s’ more – Can I have s’ more water?
• …

• Should have – shoulda – I shoulda called yesterday.
• Could have – coulda – She coulda been here by 1:00.
• Would have – woulda – He woulda arrived earlier, but the train was late.
• Might have – mighta – You mighta left the bag at the airport.
• Must have – musta – You musta been in a hurry.
• Couldn’t have – couldna -I couldna called because my phone was broken.
• Shouldn’t have – shouldna – She shouldna told you that.
• Wouldn’t have – wouldna – Nick wouldna known about the meeting.
• Don’t you – dontcha – Dontcha like the movie?
• Didn’t you – didntcha – Didntcha like the movie?
• Won’t you – wontcha  – Wontcha drive the car?
• What are you – whatcha or watcha – Whatcha doing?
• Got you – gotcha – I gotcha!
• Bet you – betcha – Betcha can’t guess the answer!
• KInd of – kinda – I kinda like her.
• Out of – outta – The printer is outta paper.
• Cup of – cuppa – I need a cuppa coffee.
• Sort of – sorta – I sorta need that book.
• A lot of – a lotta – I have a lotta homework tonight.
• Got to – gotta – I gotta buy a new car.
• Going to – gonna – She is gonna be there today.
• Need to – needa – I needa go shopping soon.
• Want to – wanna – I wanna blue car.
• Have to – hafta – I hafta save some money.
• Has to – hasta – Tim hasta work today.
• Ought to – oughta – She oughta work two jobs.
• …

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