Reduced forms are words that are notwritten in English but that are frequentlyused by native speakers. It’s importantto be able to recognize them so you canunderstand spoken English and soundmore natural when you speak. Here aresome of the most useful reduced formsto know.
- Gonna, gotta, wanna, oughta = going to, got to, want to, ought to (“I’m gonna go to the store.”)
- ’Cuz = because (“I’m going to stay in tonight ’cuz I’m tired.”)
- Dunno = don’t know (“I dunno what I want to do.”)
- Couldya, wouldya = could you, would you (“Couldya quiet down?”)
- Gimme, lemme = give me, let me (“Couldya gimme a piece of that cake, please?”)
- Shoulda/woulda/coulda = should have, would have, could have (“We shoulda picked up a birthday card.”)
- Kinda/sorta = kind of, sort of (“I kinda like this song, but the chorus is annoying.”)
- Lotta/lottsa = lot of, lots of (“There sure are a lotta tourists and lottsa souvenir shops around here.”)
- Mighta/might’ve = might have, followed by a consonant (“She mighta gone yesterday”), might have, followed by a vowel (“He might’ve agreed to go if you hadn’t told him how much tickets cost.”)
- How are ya? = How are you? (“I haven’t seen you in weeks! How are ya?”)
- Whaddya = what do you (“Whaddya want to do with your day off?”)
- Whatcha = what are you (“Whatcha planning to do?”)
- C’mon = come on (“C’mon, let’s go!”)
- Jus’ = just (“That’s jus’ perfect.”)
- See ya = see you (“See ya later!”)
Keep in mind that you should not use these reduced forms in formal or business settings, but you can try them out when you’re talking to friends.
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