AE - An Introduction To Using English Contractions Like A Native

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Dedication

I want to dedicate this book to all the early listeners of The Aussie English
Podcast whose support and encouragement has been incredibly humbling!

I want to give a shout-out to Estefania, Amir, Ali, Juan, Agata, Vanessa and
Thibault. Your daily engagement has been invaluable and I really appreciate you
guys! Thank you!
TheAussieEnglishPodcast.com
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Table of contents

Introduction……………..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..................3
1. Gonna….……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……................7
2. Wanna & Wansta….……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……................12
3. Gotta….……..……..……..….…..……..……..……..……..……..……................16
4. Hafta & Hasta………..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..…….............22
5. Need & Needsta………....……..……..……..……..……..……..……................25
6. Bonus section: Doncha……….……..……..……..……..……..……..................29
7. Bonud section: Dunno……..…….……..……..……..……..……..……..............31
A quick thank you...........................................................................................35
About the author............................................................................................36
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Introduction

G’day guys. Welcome to An Introduction To Using English Contractions Like A
Native.

Obviously, I wanna answer a few questions before we dive in and start doing the
audio course guys. So, let’s start. Question one:
Why have I made this audio course and

ebook?

First, it feels good to give. It feels good to give back to you guys that like
listening to my podcast, who are learning English, and who are having difficulties
with some of these things such as contractions. I love giving to you guys. There’s
no strings attached, no conditions, nothing expected in return. All I want is for
you get the most out of this course and improve your English.

Secondly, I know how many areas there are in English that you guys find difficult
to master, and commonly used contractions in natural speech seemed like a
good place to start.

And thirdly, I also wanna give you a taste of what’s to come with future courses
that I plan to make through The Aussie English Podcast.
So,
Who is this course for?

This course is for intermediate to advanced English as a Second Language (ESL)
learner. For those ESL students who already have a solid base in English and are
getting ready to take their English to the next level and try and sound a lot more
natural and like a native when speaking English.
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How should you use this audio course?

Before I dive into the specifics I wanna say that, personally, once I get to the
intermediate to advanced stages of learning a language I really prefer resources
where I can learn organically by context, by absorbing and listening to and using
the language in a natural way. So, I like absorbing the real language being used
authentically and naturally by natives.
So, firstly, listen to it and read the whole way through. You don’t necessarily
hafta understand everything this first time. Just familiarize yourself with the
material. Do all of the exercises. Practice, practice practice. Make and effort to
understand everything in this course. So, print the course out. Take notes on it.
Underline all the words you don’t know. Look all of the words up. (Look) all of
the expressions up. I want you to go over this course with a find-tooth comb, as
we say in English. So, to search through something very carefully, to go over it
thoroughly and understand everything that is in this course. It’s only short so it
shouldn’t be too hard to do.

Once you have that solid understanding and you’ve taken notes. You understand
all the words. Listen to this course again and again and again. Listen to this
course many times. Do the exercises repeatedly. Maybe start by listening a few
times a day, and then once a day, and then once a week, and then once a
month, etc., until you get to the point of being able to do these contractions
naturally, instinctually, and you’re speech patterns mimic those of a native
speaker.

So, repetition is really the key here, guys. You wanna get to the point where this
material is incredibly easy and almost definitely incredibly boring. So, until you
get to that point you probably haven’t done enough.

I would also recommend trying to use these contractions as much as possible
when speaking and even when writing in informal situations. So, obviously, in
speaking you can use these almost everywhere, in all situations, but when it
comes to writing I really wouldn’t recommend ever use these contractions when
doing something formal like writing a résumé or like writing a report for work. I
would never use these contractions. On the other hand, if I’m sending text
messages or I’m writing to a friend on Facebook, writing these contractions is
absolutely acceptable and you are almost certainly gonna see these done by
natives all the time online.
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Who uses these contractions?

These contractions are used by English speakers from all across the world, and
across most if not all dialects of English. You’re gonna see them in books,
movies and TV shows when characters are talking to one another, and you’ll hear
them in every day English in the real world when speaking with native English
speakers.
These contractions truly are a huge part of every day life in spoken English.

So, before we get straight into it guys, I have two favours to ask you.

Firstly, if you like the audio course please share it with at least one other person
that you think it’ll benefit, and whose English it’ll hopefully boost and take to the
next level with regards to sounding like a native.

Secondly, please come over to the Facebook page, guys, at
www.facebook.com/theaussieenglishpodcast and give it a like. Send me a
message and introduce yourself. I love hearing from you guys. I love to know
where you’re from, how you’re going learning English. And I would also love
some feedback on the course.

- So, I would love to know what you thought of it.
- Could I improve it?
- Was it easy to use?
- And are there other parts of English that you guys would also like courses
made for?

Anyway, that’s enough for the introduction, guys. Without any further ado let’s
dive in and start learning these every day contractions and take your spoken
English to the next level!
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1. Gonna

Alright guys, number 1 is GONNA. The contraction GONNA is a contraction
two words GOING and TO, GOING and TO. GOING TO = GONNA. GOING TO
= GONNA.

I might add here that GOING TO is always followed by a verb when it’s
contracted into the form GONNA.

So, for instance:

Going to wait = Gonna wait
Going to see = Gonna see
Going to watch = Gonna watch
Going to play = Gonna play
When isn’t it used? Going TO + A PLACE. So, a location, e.g. GOING TO the
beach, GOING TO the pool. We don’t turn GOING TO when it’s followed by A
PLACE into GONNA.

I’m GONNA the pool. That would never be said. So, avoid using it there. It’s
always followed by a verb, e.g.:

Gonna be
Gonna do
Gonna wait
Gonna see
Gonna watch
Gonna play

So, we’ll start with a listen and repeat exercise here guys where I’m going to use
the pronouns I, YOU, HE, SHE, WE, THEY and IT followed by their conjugations
of the verb TO BE in the present tense. So, I’M, YOU’RE, HE’S, SHE’S, WE’RE,
THEY’RE and IT’S. And then we’re going to say GONNA after it. So, listen and
repeat after me guys.
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Listen and repeat:

I’m gonna...
You’re gonna...
He’s gonna...
She’s gonna...
We’re gonna...
They’re gonna...
It’s gonna...

And let’s do that one more time.

I’m gonna...
You’re gonna...
He’s gonna...
She’s gonna...
We’re gonna...
They’re gonna...
It’s gonna...

And now we’ll go into a substitution exercise. So in the substitution exercises
here guys, and in the rest of the course as well, I’m going to say the first
sentence uncontracted. So in the context of the contraction GONNA the first
sentence is going to be GOING TO. So, it’s gonna have the form GOING TO
uncontracted in the sentence. And then, the second sentence is going to have
the contracted form GONNA. It’s gonna have the contracted form.

So, these two sentences, I’m gonna say the first one and I want you to anticipate
that contraction and say the contraction, and then I’m gonna say the second
sentence with the contraction for you guys to check whether you got it right.

If these exercises are too difficult at the start, guys, treat them as a LISTEN AND
REPEAT exercise, and just repeat everything that I say the way I say it and
practice your pronunciation.
Let’s go.
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Substitution exercise:

I’m going to go home soon.
I’m gonna go home soon.

You’re going to wake up early.
You’re gonna wake up early.

He’s going to have some coffee.
He’s gonna have some coffee.

She’s going to eat dinner.
She’s gonna eat dinner.

We’re going to do some exercise.
We’re gonna do some exercise.

They’re going to help their friends.
They’re gonna help their friends.

It’s going to be over soon.
It’s gonna be over soon.

So, now let’s negate those sentences, guys. In this following substitution
exercise going to negate each of those sentences we just practiced with
GONNA. And so, I’m going to put NOT before GONNA or before GOING TO.
So, you’ll get the feeling. Just listen and repeat after me if it’s difficult or treat it
as a substitution exercise where you contract GONNA.
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I’m not going to go home soon.
I’m not gonna go home soon.

You’re not going to wake up early.
You’re not gonna wake up early.

He’s not going to have some coffee.
He’s not gonna have some coffee.

She’s not going to eat dinner.
She’s not gonna eat dinner.

We’re not going to do some exercise.
We’re not gonna do some exercise.

They’re not going to help their friends.
They’re not gonna help their friends.

It’s not going to be over soon.
It’s not gonna be over soon.

And I might just add here at the end, guys, a little note. It’s ok to also use the
following forms when negating GONNA. So, you could say:

You aren’t gonna...
He isn’t gonna...
She isn’t gonna...
We aren’t gonna...
They aren’t gonna...
It isn’t gonna...
And, I’m not gonna...
So, you can contract NOT onto the TO BE verbs that are conjugated in the
present tense there with their respective pronouns except for the pronoun I.
You will never contract NOT onto AM. It’s always I’M NOT or I AM NOT.

So, that’s just a point there to take away and practice. You can use either for all
of the pronouns except for "I".
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So, that’s it for GONNA, guys. I’m gonna get into the next episode. See you
there!
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2. Wanna & Wansta

Number 2. Wanna & Wansta.

So, WANNA is a contraction of the words WANT and TO followed by A VERB,
and WANSTA is the contraction of the words WANTS and TO followed by A
VERB. So, these are just the different conjugations of WANT in the present
tense depending on the pronoun that you’re using.

So, as we did in the previous example, guys, we’ll dive straight into a listen and
repeat exercise where I’ll get you guys to listen and repeat after me, and
practice your pronunciation of these contractions.

Let’s go!
Listen and repeat:

I wanna
You wanna
He wansta
She wansta
We wanna
They wanna
It wansta

Let’s do that again.

I wanna
You wanna
He wansta
She wansta
We wanna
They wanna
It wansta
I might just add here that you’ll notice that the "T” at the end of WANTS, the
one with the “S” at the end, actually disappears and shifts to the other side of
the “S”. You’ll see what I mean when you write this out or when you read the
audio book (ebook*). But if I say HE, SHE and IT with WANSTA slowly you’ll
hear that there’s just one “T” in there and it’s after the “S”.
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He wansta
She wansta
It wansta

So, we’ll say that quickly.

He wansta
She wansta
It wansta

Hopefully that makes sense.

Let’s get into the substitution exercise, guys. Now you’ll know the drill. You’ve
just done the previous one in GONNA. This time we’re gonna do it with
WANNA and WANSTA.

So, listen and repeat after me if it’s a bit difficult and you just wanna practice
your pronunciation to start with, or treat as a substitution exercise where you try
and anticipate the contraction before I give you the second sentence, which will
be the answer sentence. So, I’ll say the first sentence and there’ll be a space,
some silence, where you guys try and say that same sentence but contracted.
And then the second sentence you can verify, you can clarify, you can check
whether you got it correct.

Let’s go.
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I want to go home.
I wanna go home.

You want to get a new job.
You wanna get a new job.

He wants to marry her.
He wansta marry her.

She wants to buy some new shoes.
She wansta buy some new shoes.

We want to listen to music.
We wanna listen to music.

They want to talk to him.
They wanna talk to him.

It wants to come inside.
It wansta come inside.

And imagine there in that last example, guys, that I’m talking about a pet dog or
a pet cat. So, that animal is “IT” in this sentence and "IT wansta come inside".
"IT wansta come inside".
So, in order to negate WANNA we just put DON’T or DOESN’T before WANT
TO, so, before WANNA in order to negate it. So, note that this time too, guys,
it’s always going to be WANNA, because we’ve used that negated auxiliary
verb, so, DON’T or DOESN’T. DON’T or DOESN’T is always followed by a verb
in the infinitive.
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So, it’s always going to be followed by either the uncontracted form of WANT
TO, so DON’T WANT TO or DOESN’T WANT TO, or the contracted form
obviously, DON’T WANNA, DOESN’T WANNA.
So, let’s get into the substitution exercise here, guys, where I’m going to say
those same sentences again but this time I’m going to say them in the negative
form. And so, remember we’re going to add in DON’T and DOESN’T before
WANNA in order to make them negative, in order to negate these sentences.

So, let’s go!


I don’t want to go home.
I don’t wanna go home.

You don’t want to get a new job.
You don’t wanna get a new job.

He doesn’t want to marry her.
He doesn’t wanna marry her.

She doesn’t want to buy some new shoes.
She doesn’t wanna buy some new shoes.

We don’t want to listen to music.
We don’t wanna listen to music.

They don’t want to talk to him.
They don’t wanna talk to him.

It doesn’t want to come inide.
It doesn’t wanna come inside.

So, I wanna finish up there, guys. Hopefully you guys wanna join me in the next
lesson and we’ll learn how to use GOTTA. Let’s go!
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3. Gotta

Number 3. GOTTA. You guys have gotta learn the contraction GOTTA. So, the
contraction GOTTA is a contraction of the words GOT and TO, which is followed
by a verb in the infinitive. So, GOTTA is GOT TO. And it’s just that the TO
becomes that “TA” sound. So, it joins onto GOT and it becomes GOTTA instead
of GOT TO.

So, as usual, guys, let’s just jump straight into the listen and repeat exercise so
you guys practice your pronunciation and repeat after me, and keep getting
better and better. Let’s level you guys up. Let’s do this!

Listen and repeat:

I‘ve gotta...
You‘ve gotta...
He‘s gotta...
She‘s gotta...
We‘ve gotta...
They‘ve gotta...
It‘s gotta...

Let’s do that again.

I‘ve gotta...
You‘ve gotta...
He‘s gotta...
She‘s gotta...
We‘ve gotta...
They‘ve gotta...
It‘s gotta...
I’m gonna add here too, guys, that sometimes you’re gonna hear the present
tense of the verb TO HAVE removed from the sentences. So, you’re just going
to hear the pronouns, I, YOU, HE, SHE, WE, THEY, IT directly followed by
GOTTA. And this is incredibly informal talk. And so, I’ll go through this one time
for you guys to practice your pronunciation.
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I gotta...
You gotta...
He gotta...
She gotta...
We gotta...
They gotta...
It gotta...

So, you’re gonna hear this kind of form, so that I GOTTA, YOU GOTTA, HE
GOTTA, SHE GOTTA, without HAVE in there or HAS. You’re gonna hear that all
the time on TV shows, in movies when it’s a group of people who are talking
really really informally with one another. So, using a lot of slang, often you’ll see
people in the streets in these sorts of, you know, gangs and stuff, and they’ll talk
like this. Anyway, that’s just a side note.

As usual, guy, let’s jump straight into the substitution exercise. And so, as
always, if you wanna treat it like a listen and repeat exercise do that first. Listen
to the sentences, repeat after me and practice your pronunciation. But then, if
you wanna take it to the next level and make things a little bit more difficult for
yourself, after I say the first sentence, which will be uncontracted, I want you to
say the contracted form. So, you turn the first sentence into the contracted form
of that sentence. And then, I’ll say the second sentence and you can see whether
or not you were correct.

So, let’s go!
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I’ve got to leave soon.

I’ve gotta leave soon.

You’ve got to ask permission.
You’ve gotta ask permission.

He’s got to go to work.
He’s gotta go to work.

She’s got to call her mum.
She’s gotta call her mum.

We’ve got to cook dinner.
We’ve gotta cook dinner.

They’ve got to get new jobs.
They’ve gotta get new jobs.

It’s got to change.
It’s gotta change.
And I might just do a quick listen and repeat exercise here, guys, where I’ll say
the same sentences again but only once in the contracted form, and I’m going to
remove the verb TO HAVE so that you can hear this in the very slangy informal
way of speaking.
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So, listen and repeat after me.

I gotta leave soon.

You gotta ask permission.

He gotta go to work.

She gotta call her mum.

We gotta cook dinner.

They gotta get new jobs.

It gotta change.

OK, guys, let’s negate the contraction GOTTA, and as you’ve probably guessed
in order to negate the contraction GOTTA we actually just make the verb TO
HAVE in the present tense, after it’s pronoun, negated. So, we say HAVEN’T or
HASN’T followed by GOTTA.

On a side note, you will those kinds of people don’t use HAVE or HAS when
they say GOTTA, so those people who say I GOTTA, YOU GOTTA, SHE GOTTA.
Often those people will negate GOTTA with DON’T or DOESN’T. So, they’ll say
I DON’T GOTTA or HE DOESN’T GOTTA. That is incredibly bad English. That is
incredibly incredibly bad English. It’s very grammatically incorrect, and it’s going
to sound like you’re incredibly uneducated if you use that kind of speech. It’s
very very slangy. So, I would avoid using that kind of negation.

So, let’s do this negated substitution exercise for the contraction GOTTA, guys.
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I haven’t got to leave soon.
I haven’t gotta leave soon.

You haven’t got to ask permission.
You haven’t gotta ask permission.

He hasn’t got to go to work.
He hasn’t gotta go to work.

She hasn’t got to call her mum.
She hasn’t gotta call her mum.

We haven’t got to cook dinner.
We haven’t gotta cook dinner.

They haven’t got to get new jobs.
They haven’t gotta get new jobs.

It hasn’t got to change.
It hasn’t gotta change.

One little note here, guys, is that when speaking with these kinds of contractions
in the case of GOTTA we’re almost always going to say HASN’T and HAVEN’T
instead of contracting HAVE or HAS onto the pronoun and following that by
NOT. So, the forms:

I’ve not…
You’ve not…
He’s not…
She’s not…
We’ve not…
They’ve not…
It’s not...
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Are definitely used in English all the time, but because GOTTA is incredibly
slangy and it’s a contraction that’s used in pretty informal English, the
contractions of… the forms of I’VE NOT, YOU’VE NOT and HE’S NOT, etc. are
actually formal. And so, it sounds incredibly weird if you were to say something
like I’VE NOT GOTTA or YOU’VE NOT GOTTA. If you were to use those
contractions I’VE NOT, YOU’VE NOT, HE’S NOT you would almost definitely say
GOT TO instead of GOTTA. That’s just a side note there for you guys to take
note of. Anyway.

Anyway, guys, you gotta finish this episode and I gotta make the next one so
that you can join me there and listen (to) and practice HAFTA and HASTA.

Let’s go!
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4. Hafta & Hasta

Number 4. HAFTA and HASTA. So, HAFTA and HASTA are the contractions
HAVE TO, which is HAFTA, HAVE TO = HAFTA, and HASTA is the contraction
of HAS TO. HAS TO = HASTA. HAS TO = HASTA.

So, as usual, guys, let’s just dive straight into the listen and repeat exercise
where I get you to listen and repeat exactly what I say and work on your
pronunciation.

Let’s go!

Listen and repeat:

I hafta...
You hafta...
He hasta...
She hasta...
We hafta...
They hafta...
It hasta...

Let’s do that one more time!

I hafta...
You hafta...
He hasta...
She hasta...
We hafta...
They hafta...
It hasta...

So, now let’s jump into the substitution exercise, guys, that always follows the
listen and repeat exercise. And as I always say, I want you guy to treat this as a
listen and repeat exercise if it’s a bit difficult to start with.
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But if you wanna make it difficult and do it as a substitution exercise, when you
hear me say the first sentence anticipate the contraction and say that, and then
I’ll say the second sentence with the contracted form and you can see if you
were correct.

Let’s go!

I have to go home.
I hafta go home.

You have to head to work.
You hafta head to work.

He has to eat breakfast.
He hasta eat breakfast.

She has to wake up early.
She hasta wake up early.

We have to go on holidays.
We hafta go on holidays.

They have to change their minds.
They hafta change their minds.

It has to be a mistake.
It hasta be a mistake.

And now, guys, as usual let’s negate HAFTA. And so, we put DON’T and
DOESN’T before HAVE TO, which becomes HAFTA, in order to negate it. And
so, note this time it’s always going to be HAFTA because the negated auxiliary
verb DON’T and DOESN’T is always followed by a verb in the infinitive, which in
this case is HAVE. So, it’s always followed by HAVE. There’s no HAS.
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So, let’s dive in!


I don’t have to go home.
I don’t hafta go home.

You don’t have to head to work.
You don’t hafta head to work.

He doesn’t have to eat breakfast
He doesn’t hafta eat breakfast.

She doesn’t have to wake up early.
She doesn’t hafta wake up early.

We don’t have to go on holidays.
We don’t hafta go on holidays.

They don’t have to change their minds.
They don’t hafta change their minds.

It doesn’t have to be a mistake.
It doesn’t hafta be a mistake.

So, that’s it, guys. I hope you realize you hafta do this exercise a few times. And
while you’re doing the exercise for hafta, I’m gonna hafta jump over to the next
one and make Number 5 for NEEDA and NEEDSTA. I’ll see you there!
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5. Needa & Needsta

Number 5. NEEDA and NEEDSTA. NEEDA and NEEDSTA. So, the contraction
fo NEEDA and the word TO, so NEED + TO, which is followed by a verb in the
infinitive. And the contraction of NEEDSTA is NEEDS + TO followed by a verb in
the infinitive. So, NEEDSTA is NEEDS + TO contracted. NEEDA and NEEDSTA.
So, as always, guys, let’s jump into the listen and repeat exercise. And I’ll do it
for you twice where we will go over the pronunciation of NEEDA and NEEDSTA
with their respective pronouns.

Let’s do it!
Listen and repeat:
I needa...
You needa...
He needsta...
Sheneedsta...
We needa...
They needa...
It needsta...

Let’s do that one more time!

I needa...
You needa...
He needsta...
Sheneedsta...
We needa...
They needa...
It needsta...
24
And so, you guessed it! Now we’re jumping into the substitution exercise. So,
remember, if it’s difficult, if you wanna make it a little bit easy and just focus on
your pronunciation then treat this as a listen and repeat exercise, guys, where
you listen to me and then after that you repeat exactly what I say as I say it to
work on your pronunciation.

If you wanna treat it as the substitution exercise it’s intended to be used for,
guys, make sure that you anticipate the contraction after the first sentence. So, I
say the first sentence and you say the same thing but contracted. And then, I’ll
say the second sentence with the contracted form and you can see if you were
correct.


I need to change my clothes.
I needa change my clothes.

You need to take a break.
You needa take a break.

He needs to have dinner.
He needsta have dinner.

She needs to study hard.
She needsta study hard.

We need to make breakfast.
We needa make breakfast.

They need to go for a run.
They needa go for a run.

It needs to stay like that.
It needsta stay like that.
So, let’s negate it as usual, guys. This time we put DON’T and DOESN’T in front
of NEED TO or NEEDA in order to negate it. And so, note that it always ends
up being NEEDA. It’s always NEED TO becoming NEEDA, because, you
guessed it, the negated auxiliary verb DON’T or DOESN’T is always followed by
a verb in the infinitive. And so, TO NEED. NEED is the infinitive form.
25
So, let’s go!


I don’t need to change my clothes.
I don’t needa change my clothes.

You don’t need to take a break.
You don’t needa take a break.

He doesn’t need to have dinner.
He doesn’t needa have dinner.

She doesn’t need to study hard.
She doesn’t needa study hard.

We don’t need to make breakfast.
We don’t needa make breakfast.

They don’t need to go for a run.
They don’t needa go for a run.

It doesn’t need to stay like that.
It doesn’t needa stay like that.

So, that’s it for the contraction NEEDA guys. If you needa listen a few times and
you needa practice a few times then go over it again and again until you’ve got
it down pat, until you can do it perfectly.

Anyway, stay tuned because up next we’ve got a bonus section where I’m
gonna teach you two more nice little contractions that are common in English
before we finish up.

Thanks again for listening guys, and all the best!
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Bonus section:
Here's a picture of a happy koala to fill the extra space on this page.

27
6. Doncha

So, that was it, guys. You just smashed out quite a few different contractions,
but I’ve got a bonus section here for you guys where we’re going to run through
the contractions of the words DONCHA (Don’t you) and DUNNO (Don’t know).

So, we’ll start with DONCHA, and DONCHA is a contraction of the word DON’T
and YOU. So, it’s a contraction of a contraction. DO NOT YOU? But, we never
say that. We always say DON’T YOU. But, this often gets contracted into just
DONCHA. DONCHA.

And so, we’ll just do a quick listen and repeat exercise, guys, where I’ll say
DONCHA five times.

Listen and repeat:
Doncha x 5

So, as I said before, DONCHA is a contraction of the negated auxiliary verb
DON’T followed by YOU, and this is always followed by a verb in the infinitive.
For example:

Don’t you think…
Doncha think…?

Don’t you want…
Doncha want…?

Don’t you have…
Doncha have…?

Don’t you see…
Doncha see…?

Don’t you go…
Doncha go…?
28
And so, let’s just dive into a mini substitution exercise here, guys.


Don’t you think it’s fun?
Doncha think it’s fun?

Don’t you like it?
Doncha like it?

Don’t you drive to work?
Doncha drive to work?

Don’t you cook each night?
Doncha cook each night?

Don’t you walk every day?
Doncha walk every day?

Don’t you go shopping much?
Doncha go shopping much?

And let’s do a little substitution exercise here too, guys, where we’re gonna
follow DONCHA with some other contractions that you previously went
through, HAFTA and WANNA.

So, you’re gonna hafta contract two things. You’re gonna contract DON’T YOU
into DONCHA, and then you’re gonna also hafta contract HAVE TO into
HAFTA or WANT TO into WANNA.

Let’s give it a go!

29

Don’t you have to leave soon?
Doncha hafta leave soon?

Don’t you have to have dinner?
Doncha hafta have dinner?

Don’t you have to get married?
Doncha hafta get married?

Don’t you want to leave soon?
Doncha wanna leave soon?

Don’t you want to have dinner?
Doncha wanna have dinner?

Don’t you want to get married?
Doncha wanna get married?

And so, as some side notes here at the end, guys, it is funny, as I was doing
these exercises I made quite a few mistakes myself. I kept saying the contracted
form naturally when I was trying to say the uncontracted one. So, that just goes
to show just how natural it is to say DONCHA and how much I hafta actively
think and speak more slowly in order to say DON’T YOU or DON’(T) YOU. So,
that’s one thing that I wanted to say.
Another thing that I wanted to mention, and you’ll notice this if you go back and
do this DONCHA set of exercises one more time, because these are questions
you’ll hear the intonation of my voice rise at the end of these sentences. So,
that’s just one more thing to be aware of. So, instead of saying something like
“DONCHA HAFTA leave soon?” I don’t say it going down like that, “DONCHA
HAFTA leave soon?”. I say it with an elevating tone, an elevating pitch. So I say,
“DONCHA HAFTA leave soon?”. So, it goes up at the end there. You’ll hear it
go up at the end. So, that’s just one thing that you guys might wanna practice
and take note of when doing these exercise again.
30
7. Dunno

The very last one here, guys, and I’ll just add it in on top of DONCHA is
DUNNO. And this is definitely an incredibly common contraction that’s written
in informal English and also said all the time, especially in response to questions.
If you don’t know the answer to a question a lot of the time you’re gonna hear
native English speakers just say “DUNNO.”, “DUNNO.”

Do you know where this is?
Nah, dunno.

Do you know where that is?
Nah, dunno.

So, let’s just go in and do a listen and repeat exercise guys. I’m gonna say
DUNNO five times. So, you wanna listen and repeat after me in order to
practice your pronunciation.

Let’s go.

Listen and repeat:
Dunno…
Dunno…
Dunno…
Dunno…
Dunno…

And now let’s do a substitution exercise to finish everything up, to wrap it all up,
and we’re gonna be focusing obviously on contracting DON’T KNOW into
DUNNO. So, listen and repeat after me guys.
31

I don’t know who that is.
I dunno who that is.

I don’t know what to do.
I dunno what to do.

I don’t know where to go.
I dunno where to go.

I don’t know why I’m here.
I dunno why I’m here.

I don’t know which to choose.
I dunno which to choose.

I don’t know when to leave.
I dunno when to leave.

And, one thing I’ve just noticed there, guys, is that pronunciation. We really skip
across DUNNO. It’s really rapid. It’s very quickly said and you get to the sort of
important part of the sentence. So, as you go back and listen to that exercise
listen to how quickly I say DUNNO and how slowly I say the uncontracted form
DON’T KNOW. So, for instance:

I don’t know who that is.

To say that correctly I hafta say it more slowly, but when I speak more quickly I
say:

I dunno who that is.

So I say, “I DUNNO…” I get it out and then I say, “…who that is?”, because “…
who that is” is the important part of the sentence.
32
Anyway, that’s it guys. That’s the course. I really hope you’ve enjoyed AN
INTRODUCTION TO USING ENGLISH CONTRACTIONS LIKE A NATIVE. And
remember come across to the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/
theaussieenglishpodcast or come over to the website at
www.theaussieenglishpodcast.com . I’d really love to hear from you guys even if
you just wanna send me a message and introduce yourselves. I’d love hearing
where you’re from. I’d love hearing how you’re learning English. How it’s going
for you. And I would also love to hear feedback on this course.

- Did it help you?
- Could I improve it?
- Was it easy to use?
- And, are there are parts of the English language that you would like courses
like this one to be made for in the future?

Anyway, guys, come and check out the podcast if you haven’t already, and I’ll
see you there. Have a good one guys!
33
A quick thank you!

Guys, once again, thank you for your on-going support and encouragement. I’ve
been humbled and honoured by the fact that The Aussie English Podcast has
been able to help so many improve their English. I definitely don’t take things
for granted and endeavour to continue producing resources of the highest
quality for you guys to keep consuming!
So, once again, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much guys!

If you haven’t already, be sure to come by the Aussie English Facebook page
and send me a message or comment on a post saying hello and introducing
yourself!
34
About the author

Hey guys, my name’s Pete Smissen and I’m a 29 year old evolutionary biology
PhD student and language learning enthusiast who lives in Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia.

My ultimate dream is to be able to work full time on The Aussie English Podcast
and travel around Australia and the world whilst creating resources for those
English students who have an inherent interest in Australia, and who enjoy
learning by absorbing the English language being used in a natural way.

I began The Aussie English Podcast after I was inspired by the efforts of Johan
at Français Authentique, a podcast aimed at teaching people French in a fun
and natural way. On top of that, on my language learning journeys I had met
numerous people who were learning English as a second language and told me
of just how difficult it was to come to Australia and pick up our strange dialect of
English. In light of all of this, I decided to begin making a podcast aimed at
teaching English from an Aussie perspective to anyone who was coming here to
work, travel or live, or who just might have a general interested in the Australian
dialect of English.
©2016 The Aussie English Podcast. All Rights Reserved.
35
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2. Wanna & Wansta….……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……................12

4. Hafta & Hasta………..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..…….............22

5. Need & Needsta………....……..……..……..……..……..……..……................25

6. Bonus section: Doncha……….……..……..……..……..……..……..................29

7. Bonud section: Dunno……..…….……..……..……..……..……..……..............31

A quick thank you...........................................................................................35

About the author............................................................................................36

Why have I made this audio course and

Who is this course for?

- Could I improve it?

- Was it easy to use?

Listen and repeat:

I’ve got to leave soon.

Listen and repeat:

- Could I improve it?

- Was it easy to use?

©2016 The Aussie English Podcast. All Rights Reserved.

The Aussie English website

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