2016-10-24 Idioms: eating, gonna, reduced "to"

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: p. 70 - choose the correct words from memory
1 Dutch
2 doggie
3 down
4 bite
5 skip
6 tooth
7 on
8 pig
9 eyes
10 side
11 overs
12 chocolate
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Pronunciation reduction: “going to” -> “gonna”


We can reduce “going to” to pronounce like “gonna” when it’s followed by another verb and talks about the future:
I’m going to visit my friends. I’m not going to dress up for Halloween.
-> I’m gonna visit my friends. I’m not gonna dress up for Halloween.


If “going” is the main verb, we can’t reduce the pronunciation:
I’m going to bed. She isn’t going to school today. -> NO “GONNA”


Also, “gonna” DOESN’T include “be”, so you still need to say am/is/are, and it DOES include “to”, so don’t say “gonna to”.
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Handout p. 66 - Repeat the sentences in part A with “gonna”.
part B - Decide (with your partner) if each “going to” can be pronounced “gonna”, or if it has to be pronounced fully.
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The thing to understand is whether “going” is a main verb or a helping verb. (Main verbs tell us the action that someone is doing, helping verbs tell us about the tense or other grammatical information.) It can only be reduced when it’s a helping verb.
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Reduction of “to”.
Even when “going to” isn’t reduced all the way to “gonna”, we can still reduce “to” to sound like “da”.
After dinner we’re going to my mother’s house. -> We’re goin’ da my mother’s house.


After voiceless sounds and some stops, we often pronounce “to” like “ta”:
	How much will it cost ta take the bus ta work?
	He’s too big ta ride that ride.


After voiced sounds, we pronounce it like “da”:
	I try da do a good job at work.
	He’s too big da ride that ride. (after /b/, /d/, or /g/ it can be both)


(“have” and “has” become voiceless when we say them quickly: “hafta”, “hasta”)
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p. 54 - Do we pronounce each “to” like “ta” or “da”?
1 went ta, market ta
2 how da, get ta
3 wanted ta / wanted da, go da, wanted ta / wanted da