Your neighbor says, "I'm gonna run to the store, ya wanna come?" and you catch only "store." You learned "going to" and "want to" in class, but Americans almost never say them that way in casual speech. Then you try "gonna" yourself and say "I'm gonna the park," which sounds wrong. Learners who translate word by word from their own language often miss these forms or use them in the wrong place. In this episode: • Gonna and wanna • Gotta, hafta, hasta • Kinda and sorta • Lemme, gimme, dunno • Listening lab: saturday plans • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: gonna (GUH-nuh) — going to, for the future, before a verb I'm gonna make pancakes. — I'm going to make pancakes. It's gonna rain. — It's going to rain. wanna (WAH-nuh) — want to, or want a I wanna go home. — I want to go home. Do you wanna watch something? — Do you want to watch something? Wanna snack? — Do you want a snack? (very casual) gotta (GAH-duh) — have got to, must I gotta go. — I have to leave now. (casual) We gotta clean up before Mom gets home. — We must clean up. gotta (GAH-duh) — also "got a" I got a new phone. — Sounds like "I GAH-duh new phone." hafta (HAF-tuh) — have to I hafta work Saturday. — I have to work on Saturday. hasta (HAS-tuh) — has to She hasta pick up the kids. — She has to pick up the kids. kinda (KINE-duh) — kind of, a little, somewhat I'm kinda tired. — I'm a little tired. sorta (SOR-duh) — sort of, almost the same as kinda It's sorta like a pancake. — It's similar to a pancake. Both can soften an answer: "Did you like it?" "Kinda." — Not completely. Season 2 · Real American English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — accent, everyday grammar, prepositions, articles, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.