Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every week with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation.
Today, let’s talk about another very natural reduction in American English: “have got to.” In everyday conversation, HAVE GOT TO becomes “gotta.”
- I've got to go. Becomes I gotta go.
- You've got to see this. Becomes You gotta see this.
- We've got to hurry. Becomes We gotta hurry.
This is very common in casual, spoken American English.
Let's practice. Repeat after me.
- I gotta go.
- You gotta see this
- We gotta hurry.
Nice and smooth - gotta
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