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Shawn Zhang
Can I use wanna gonna and gotta in past tense or other tenses? wanna= want to gonna= going to gotta = have got to Is that correct? I want to go to school. I wanna go to school. He wanted to to to school. Can I say he wanna go to school? I am a little confused about the tense where these three phrases can be used.
Nov 10, 2015 11:35 PM
Answers · 18
P
Peachey
6
"Wanna", "gonna" and "gotta" (and their sloppy friends) only exist because that's what they sound like - more or less - in slurred or fast speech. They are not real words and they don't function as verbs. For past tense, you still need to conjugate the actual verb (want - wanted; is going to - was going to; get - got). "He wanna" is completely wrong, even in casual speech. You would say something closer to "wansta" (ie. wants to) or "wanidta" (wanted to). Again, remember that there aren't real words. The truth is, when we native English speakers write and speak, we use standard English (want to, going to, have got to). Even if we slur words, we will always repeat the sentence clearly if the other person didn't hear us the first time.
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November 11, 2015
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Peachey
As for casual conversation, there's a very simple rule: wait for the other person to use these words first. Until then, use standard English - that's exactly what native speakers do. Some learners try too hard to sound casual and friendly. In a regular context, if you use "gonna" and "wanna" with a complete stranger, you will just sound rude. It really depends on your friends as well. Even with my closest friends, we don't really use these forms.
November 11, 2015 · Reply
Shawn Zhang
Thank you for your tips. It's really very helpful and totally changed the way how I thought about these words before.
November 11, 2015 · Reply
M
merlyn
4
No you should not use "wanna- gotta-gonna" they are not words or contractions of words. You must always use : present tense, past tense: want to , wanted to get to , got to going to , was going to
November 11, 2015
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merlyn
I say again : wanna is NOT a word., it is NOT a colloquial form of "want to" "wanna" is the way SOME (not all ) people say "want to" Some people say wunu or wuntuh and some say want to . You should ALWAYS try to say "want to" and you should NEVER write "wanna, gota, etc." I don't know anything about the IELTS, so I don't know.
November 11, 2015 · Reply
Shawn Zhang
Thank you very much. Really appreciate it.
November 11, 2015 · Reply
J
Jesús Mendoza
1
No, you cannot use these in the past tense because, as you pointed out, they refer to actions performed in the present. It is also important to remember that these words are not actually used in formal writing and so it is not always best to use them unless, of course, you're using them in an informal context.
November 11, 2015
Shawn Zhang
Thank you very much again. I thought they were words people used casually but now I have changed my views on them. Thank you for your input and efforts. Really appreciate that.
November 11, 2015 · Reply
Jesús Mendoza
No problem! And just remember that the reason people use these words is because that's what they sound like when they are spoken.
November 11, 2015 · Reply
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Shawn Zhang
Thank you Nathan. Have a good evening.
January 7, 2016
N
Nathan
Everyone else has already left some fantastic, helpful comments for you; however, one thing I'd like to note is that 'going to' and 'gonna' implies actions that will take place in the future rather than what's occurring presently.
January 6, 2016
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Shawn Zhang
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Cantonese), English, Japanese
Learning Language
English, Japanese
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