Colloquial contractions

The following are colloquial and fast speech phenomena that result from consonant assimilation (blending) and vowel reduction.

1 Pronoun contractions

formal	colloquial & fast speech
you your them	ya /yə/ yer /yər/ ‘em
what do	whadda
what do you what are you	whaddaya
what are you what (do) you	whacha
verb + pronoun:             -d + you -d + your -t + you(r)	would you → wouldja would your → wouldjer don’t you → don’tcha
let me give me bet you got you got your	lemme gimme betcha gotcha got yer /gɔtʃər/

‘Bet you’ = ‘I suppose, believe; I reason, assume, posit’. ‘Gotcha’ also = ‘okay, understood’ as well as its more literal senses. Also, /h/ is often deleted in pronouns like he, him, her, e.g.:

• get ‘er = get her
• get ‘im = get him.

2 Modal and auxiliary verb contractions

The perfect tense auxiliary have often contracts to /əv/ or ‘ve, sometimes written very informally as of, e.g., “I should of gone” = “I should’ve gone.” Pronouns with the perfect tense auxiliary have often contract together, e.g., “I’ve, you’ve, we’ve.” With modal verbs, have can contract even more like so:

formal	colloquial & fast speech
should have (+ past participle) could have would have must have may have might have	shoulda (+ past participle) coulda woulda musta maya mighta
going to (+ verb) want to (have) got to have to has to	gonna (immediate future) wanna gotta hafta hasta
don’t know can	dunno /kən/

While can is often reduced to a very short /kən/ (something like “I c’n do it”), the negative can’t does not reduce, but keeps a full vowel and regular syllable length: /kænt/. This in fact is the best clue for distinguishing them when listening.

• can /kæn/ → /kən/ (very short)
• can’t /kænt/ (normal length, full vowel)

The verb ain’t was originally contracted from I am not centuries ago, but has become a general purpose negative verb in various dialects in the U.S and the U.K. – as a main verb or auxiliary, for first person (“I”) or any subject. The -ing ending of verbs often reduces to –in’ /ɪn/, as in doin’, goin’, swimmin’, etc.

• I ain’t the one. You ain’t it. He ain’t it. (main verb)
• We ain’t the ones. They ain’t the ones. (main verb}
• I ain’t goin’. He ain’t gonna go. {semi-modal verb])
• I ain’t gone yet. (negative for perfect / past tense)

3 Examples

1	What do you think?	Whaddaya think?
2	What do you do after school?	Whaddaya do after school?
3	What are you doing right now?	Whaddaya doin’ right now?
4	I’m going to go see a Star Trek movie.	I’m gonna go see a Star Trek movie.
5	Why are you going to see that?	Why’re you gonna go see that?
6	Because I’m going to take my brother, and he likes those movies.	‘Cuz I’m gonna take my brother, an’ he likes those movies.
7	So what are you going to do?	So whaddaya gonna do?
8	So what do you want to do?	So whaddaya wanna do? / So whatcha wanna do?
9	I want to go to bed.	I wanna go to bed.
10	My tooth is going to drive me crazy. It has to come out.	My tooth’s gonna drive me crazy. It hasta come out.
11	Then you’ve got to make an appointment with a dentist.	Then you (‘ve) gotta make an appointment with a dentist.
12	I’ve got to find one first. I don’t know any dentists.	I (‘ve) gotta find one first. I dunno any dentists.
13	I have to go downtown. Come on, I’ll take you to a good dentist.	I hafta go downtown. C’mon, I’ll take ya to a good dentist.
14	Good, because I also have to go downtown so I can go to the bank.	Good, ‘cuz I also hafta go downtown so I c’n go to the bank.
15	Do you want to come with me?	Do ya wanna come with me? / Wanna come with me?
16	Oh, no! We should have been at their house at a quarter of seven. [ = a quarter till seven]	Oh, no! We shoulda been at their house at a quarter o’ seven.
17	Well, you could have gotten directions. That would have helped.	Well, you coulda gotten directions. That woulda helped.
18	Yes, I must have been crazy to try to find their house out here.	Yeah, I musta been crazy to try to find their house out here.
19	Wait. I think there may have been a gas station back there.	Wait, I think there maya been a gas sation back there.
20	It might have been back a mile or so.	It mighta been back a mile er so.
21	I don’t know. I think I would have seen it.	I dunno. I think I woulda seen it.
22	You might have missed it while we were talking.	Ya mighta missed it while we were talking.
23	You’re probably right. If I had seen it, we could have stopped and asked directions to their house.	Yer prob’bly right. If I’d seen it, we coulda stopped an’ asked directions to their house.
24	What are you doing back here?	Whatcha doin’ back here?
25	I’m doing what you told me to do.	I’m doin’ whatcha told me to do.
26	What do you plan to do when you finish?	Whatcha plan to do when ya finish?
27	Could you put in some regular gas?	Couldja put in some regular gas?
28	Would you like me to check under the hood?	Wouldja like me to check under the hood?
29	How much air should your tires have?	How much air shouldjer tires have?
30	Did you say it’s leaking oil?	Didja say it’s leakin’ oil?
31	What did you say?	What didja say? Whadja say?
32	Did you say something?	Didja say something? Dja say somethin’?
33	I bet you he’ll catch your cold.	I betcha (h)e’ll catch yer cold.
34	You’re sick, aren’t you	I betcha he’ll catch yer cold.
35	Don’t you know you should stay at home?	Doncha know ya should stay at home?

3.1 Homophones

Note the following words that might sound just like contractions.

Contraction	Homophone
I’ll you’re you’ll he’ll he’d we’ll we’ve they’re who’s where’s where’re (where are) why’s (why is) why’re (why are) why’d (why would / did)         why’ll (why will) how’s how’ll (how will)	aisle, isle your yule heel, hill heed will, weal weave their, there whose wears wearer wise wire wide while house (verb /hauz/)         howl