Contractions are words that are created by combining words in order to shorten them from their original form. Common contractions are words like she's and don't and can be both written (informally) and spoken.

Informal contractions often combine with the following words:

• + to
• + you
• + of
• + would have
• miscellaneous

Since informal contractions are seldom written, the spellings below are general phonetic spellings and are not standardized.

Contractions with "to"

1. going to → gonna: /gʌnə/

2. want to  → wanna: /wɔnə/

3. have to  → hafta: /hæftə/

4. has to  → hasta: /hæstə/

5. had to  → hadta: /hædtə/

6. used to  → useta: /yustə/

7. got to  → gotta: /gɑt̬ə/

Contractions with "you"

1. did you  → didja: /dɪʤə/

2. could you  → couldja: /kʊʤə/

3. would you  → wouldja: /wʊʤə/

4. how did you  → howdja: /haʊʤə/

5. what do you  → whadaya: /wʌdəjə/

6. where did you  → wheredja: /wɛrʤə/

7. what did you  → whadja: /wʌʤə/

Contractions with "of"

1. kind of  → kinda: /kɑɪndə/

2. lot of  → lotta: /lɑt̬ə/

3. lots of  → lotsa: /lɑtsə/

Contraction with "would have"

The informally contracted form of the words "would have" can be pronounced as /də/, or can also include /v/ in the pronunciation. For instance, "sheda" /ʃidə/ could also be pronounced /ʃidəv/. The inclusion of the /v/ is likely when the next word begins with a vowel sound.

1. she would have → sheda: /ʃidə/

2. he would have → heda: /hidə/

3. we would have → weda: /widə/

4: I would have → Ida: /ɑɪdə/

5. they would have → theyda: /ðeɪdə/

6. you would have → youda: /yudə/

Other informal contractions

1. come on → c'mon: /kmɑn/

2. don't know → dunno: /dənoʊ/

3. let me → lemme: /lɛmi/

4. must have → musta: /mʌstə/

5. might have → mighta: /mɑɪt̬ə/