Common contractions used by Americans

a : He’s the father a the bride

of : He’s the father of the bride

a buncha : a bunch of

a coupla : a couple of

kinda : kind of

lotsa : lots of

mosta : most of

ridda : rid of

sicka : sick of

sorta : short of

better : You better leave now.

had better : You had better leave now.

c’mon : C’mon! Let’s go to the movies.

come on : Come on! Let’s go to the movies.

‘cause : Why? ‘cause we like you.

because : Why? Because we like you.

coulda : You coulda phoned.

could have : You could have phoned.

couldna : I couldna done it better.

couldn’t have : I couldn’t have it better.

didja : What didja have for lunch?

did you : What did you have for lunch?

dunno : I dunno where they are.

don’t know : I don’t know where they are.

‘em : I gave ‘em to my little brother.

them : I gave them to my little brother.

g’bye : G’bye. Thanks to the tea.

good-bye : Good-bye. Thanks for the beer.

gimme : Gimme your money or i’ll shoot!

give me : Give me your money or i’ll shoot!

gonna : I’m gonna be famous.

be going to : I’m going to be famous.

got : They got three kids.

have (got) : They have (got) three kids.

gotta : Gotta cigarette?

do you have a : Do you have a cigarette?

gotta : I gotta go to the bathroom.

have got to : I have got to go to the bathroom.

hafta : I hafta visit my grandmother.

have to : I have to visit my grandmother.

hasta : She hasta clean the house.

has to : She has to clean the house.

how’s : How’s he like his coffee? With sugar?

how does : How does he likes his coffee? With sugar?

in’ : I’m singin’ in the rain.

ing : I’m singing in the rain.

lee’me : Lee’me alone.

leave me : Leave me alone.

lemme : My mom won’t lemme keep it.

let me : My mom won’t let me keep it.

musta : He musta gotten lost.

must have : He must have gotten lost.

‘n : I love rock ’n roll.

and : I love rock and roll.

of : You can’t teach an of dog new tricks.

old : You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

outta(oudda) : He ran outta the room.

out of : He ran out of the room.

shoulda : You shoulda kissed her.

should have : You should have kissed her.

shouldna : You shouldna done that.

shouldn’t have : You shouldn’t have done that.

wanna : I wanna hold your hand.

want to : I want to hold your hand.

what’s : What’s she want?

what does : What does she want?

whatcha : Whatcha doing?

what are you : What are you doing?

whatcha : Whatcha want to do?

what do you : What do you want to do?

woulda : I woulda killed him.

would have : I would have killed him.

wouldna : I wouldna let her escape.

wouldn’t have : I wouldn’t have let her escape.

ya : i’ll call ya later.

you : i’ll call you later.

ya : ya busy now?

are you : are you busy now?

Sitepu, Jasmin N. 2005. Daily Conversation with American SLANG.

     Publisher: Pustaka Tangga, Jakarta.