# Gonna **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 10, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255 "2007-10-10T19:48:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/1 "2007-10-10T19:48:41Z")
Am I the only one who is irritated by the present habit of saying “gonna” instead of “going to”? I hear it not just in casual conversations, but also in formal presentations by people who should know better. It even shows up in print; almost everyday I encounter one or two examples in the local newspaper’s stories or columnists. Or am I just being too picky? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/2 "2007-10-10T20:01:19Z")
[QUOTE=Ronald C. Semone] I hear it not just in casual conversations, but also in formal presentations by people who should know better. [/QUOTE] Maybe they do? Not that your peeve isn’t valid, but here’s something to chew on. Have you ever heard someone use gonna in sentences like “I’m going to the office”? Probably not, it’s usually enunciated there. You only find gonna in sentences like “I’m going to work on this report.” There’s a rule that allows gonna in certain constructions and not in others (although damned if I’m gonna formalize it when I should be working). It may not be that it’s lazy so much as those who use it have subconsciously found it a useful replacement. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/3 "2007-10-10T20:05:58Z")
I’m gonna have to admit… GUILTY AS CHARGED. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/4 "2007-10-10T20:07:59Z")
[QUOTE=Bosstone] Maybe they do? Not that your peeve isn’t valid, but here’s something to chew on. Have you ever heard someone use gonna in sentences like “I’m going to the office”? Probably not, it’s usually enunciated there. You only find gonna in sentences like “I’m going to work on this report.” There’s a rule that allows gonna in certain constructions and not in others (although damned if I’m gonna formalize it when I should be working). It may not be that it’s lazy so much as those who use it have subconsciously found it a useful replacement. [/QUOTE] I think it depends on if the next word is a verb. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/5 "2007-10-10T20:12:15Z")
I was just fixing to open a thread about this. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/6 "2007-10-10T20:12:43Z")
[QUOTE=MaxTheVool] I think it depends on if the next word is a verb. [/QUOTE] I suppose you _could_ state it that simply, if you really wanted to. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/7 "2007-10-10T20:12:53Z")
I just figgered that saying “gonna” was a step up from saying “fixin’ to”. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/8 "2007-10-10T20:18:24Z")
Meh. Language changes. Why get pissy about that? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/9 "2007-10-10T20:21:06Z")
I’ll use it on here as a type of slang in certain non-formal posts: “Britney Spears lay low from the limelight? She just ain’t gonna do it.” But in more serious or formal posts or real life e-mails I don’t use it: “If your asking the engineers to take over the techs responsibility of monitoring the fill stations they aren’t going to do it.” ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/10 "2007-10-10T20:25:18Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] I just figgered that saying “gonna” was a step up from saying “fixin’ to”. [/QUOTE] Or worse, I’m guilty of “finnda”. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/11 "2007-10-10T20:32:56Z")
I blame monkeys for this habit. They obviously started it. Cite? Did you ask for a cite? I’ll give you a cite! You know my girl just called me up And she woke me from my sleep You should have heard the things she said You know she hurt my feelings deep. I’m **gonna** buy me a dog [A dog, a dog! Why?] 'Cause I need a friend now. [Say, you need all the friends you can get] I’m \*\*gonna \*\* buy me a dog, My girl, my girl, don’t love me no how. Yep, it was those darn Monkeys. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Aioua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@Aioua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aioua)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/12 "2007-10-10T20:45:37Z")
But without “gonna”, What the heck is “I’m’a” supposed to be a contraction of? I’m’a think about this for a while… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/13 "2007-10-11T00:38:46Z")
I’m perfectly capable of speaking and writing proper English, and usually do. But in a less formal context, I deliberately add a few colloquialisms. And I ain’t gonna stop. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/14 "2007-10-11T00:58:39Z")
1957 called, and they want their linguistic peeves back. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2007, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/15 "2007-10-12T12:21:03Z")
[QUOTE=Aioua] But without “gonna”, What the heck is “I’m’a” supposed to be a contraction of? I’m’a think about this for a while… [/QUOTE] I say that too. (Colloquially, of course.) It’s clearly a contraction of “I’m gonna”. Or “I’m fixin’ to”, if that floats your boat on a higher tide. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2007, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/16 "2007-10-12T12:25:19Z")
I use it in informal speech, and sometimes informal writing - but I can’t imagine writing it in something work- related. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2007, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/17 "2007-10-12T12:28:50Z")
I gotta stop doing that. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2007, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/18 "2007-10-12T12:50:40Z")
But I was an English major. When I butcher the language, it’s art. When other people do it, it’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Pocito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@Pocito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pocito)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2007, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/19 "2007-10-12T12:50:54Z")
I worked in marketing for a satellite campus of a major university. We were given the opportunity at pre-screening the university’s big commercial for our specific campus. We were all pretty surprised that the opening began with a voice over of, “This is where I _wanna_ learn.” They even inflected the “wanna.” Yikes! I know it’s kind of a common way of speaking in the area, but for the promotional campaign of higher education? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2007, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255/20 "2007-10-12T13:23:38Z")
I’m guilty of \*gonna \*and _dunno_. I’m sure many other heresies as well. Such things use to bother me more, but as I age I find other things to worry about. One girl I use to know would say '_member_? and for some reason it made me nuts. Now I let such things pass. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gonna/422255.md?page=2)