and this is part two of the connected speech series.

Connected speech is used when you're speaking quickly and casually

and it can help your American English sound more natural.

Today, we'll be discussing informal contractions.

Can you hear the differences between the formal and casual sentences below?

Formal

I'm going to eat cake.

Casual

I'm gonna eat cake.

Do you want to go?

Do you wanna go?

I have to do homework.

I hafta do homework.

In the following story, pay attention to the underlined words

and see if you can hear the informal contractions.

I wanna surprise my sister for her birthday.

So I've gotta buy her a present.

I'm gonna hafta go to the mall.

I coulda gotten her a dog, but she already has a cat.

I woulda bought her a car, but it's too expensive.

Instead, I am gonna make her a big birthday cake.

Phrases like "gonna," "wanna," "hafta" are called informal contractions.

They are often used in casual spoken American English

but not in written English.

They are formed by combining words to shorten them

from their original form.

Practicing these can help you sound more natural

and become better at understanding fast casual speech.

Here are some examples of informal contractions with "to."

"Going to" becomes "gonna."

"want to" "wanna"

"have to" "hafta"

"got to" "gotta"

"ought to" "oughtta"

There are also examples with modal verbs plus "have."

such as "should have" becoming "shoulda"

"would have" "woulda"

"could have" "coulda"

"might have" "mighta"

Let's practice.

In the following story, try to pronounce the underlined phrases

using informal contractions.

Press pause at each page to practice at your own pace.

I wanna surprise my sister for her birthday, so I've gotta buy her a present.

I'm gonna hafta go to the mall.

I coulda gotten her a dog, but she already has a cat.

I woulda bought her a car, but it's too expensive.

Instead, I'm gonna make her a big birthday cake.

Next time, we'll discuss linking

in part three of the connected speech series.

This is American English. Thanks for watching.