Hello, everyone, today is Thursday Dec 15. I am not sure if you can hear the howling sound of the wind. It is really windy today. I live on the top floor and I feel that the wind is going to blow the roof off this building. Okay, today, we are going to talk about informal contractions. Informal contractions are short forms of words that people use when speaking casually. They are not exactly slangs. We do not use them in formal writing. However, you can use them when you are texting with your friends. These informal contractions are more common in American English. When we write them, we do not usually use apostrophes. Below are some examples: 1. Ain’t – You have to use apostrophe for this one. It is a contraction for am not, are not, has not and have not. Examples: I ain’t sure – means I am not sure. You ain’t my boss means you are not my boss. I ain’t finished my homework means I have not finished my homework. Note that ‘hasn’t’ and ‘haven’t’ are more widely used. 2. Gimme – means give me Example: Gimme your money. 3. Gonna – means going to Examples: I ain’t gonna tell you. What are you gonna do now? 4. Gotta – have got a or have got to Examples: Have you gotta car? It means have you got a car? I’ve gotta go now means I have got to go now. 5. Kinda – kind of Example: This is kinda expensive. 6. Lemme – let me Example: Lemme go! 7. Wanna - means want to, or want a Examples: I wanna go home means I want to go home. I wanna coffee means I want a coffee. 8. Whatcha - means what are you, or what have you Examples: Whatcha gonna do? Means what are you going to do? Whatcha got there? Means you have you got there? 9. Ya – you Example: Who saw ya? Out of these nine contractions, I mostly use “gimme”, and “kinda”.. There is no specific reason why I don’t use the others, it is just a habit. Thank you for listening.

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