This American English
reduction is formed when you combine and reduce
the following words.
woulda = would +
have
This American English reduction is used in the following
way.
I
woulda come if I wasn't
working.
This American English reduction has the following
meaning.
I
would have come if I
wasn't working.
Examples:
"woulda"
I
woulda
thought this would be a little cheaper.
(Meaning:
I would have thought this would be a little
cheaper.)
She
woulda
looked a lot better with a different hair color.
(Meaning:
She would have looked a lot better with a different
hair color.)
He
woulda
made it to work on time if he did not stay out late
last night.
(Meaning:
He would have made it to work on time if he did not
stay out late last night.)
I
woulda
asked her out on a date if I knew her phone number.
(Meaning:
I would have asked her out on a date if I knew her
phone number.)
They
woulda
liked this restaurant more if the food was less
spicy.
(Meaning:
They would have liked this restaurant more if the
food was less spicy.)
From
YOUR Teacher:
Woulda
Woulda is generally used to indicate an action which
could not be completed due to some other reason. Note
the following video also contains the American English
reductions shoulda, coulda, gonna, and gotta.
Note: Reductions
Remember the following:
Reductions are reduced forms of
English words.
Reductions, such as woulda are
not real words in English.
You need to use reductions in
order to sound more natural.
You need to know reductions in
order to understand conversations between native
English speakers.
Reductions are used extensively
in American TV, movies, music, literature, and in
conversations among native English speakers.
Reductions In Music and TV
Beverley Knight - Shoulda Woulda Coulda
Beverley Knight, MBE (born Beverley Anne Smith; 22 March 1973) is an
English recording artist and musical theatre actress who released
her debut album, The B-Funk, in 1995. Heavily influenced by American
soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, Knight has
released eight studio albums to date. Widely labelled as one of
Britain's greatest soul singers, Knight is best known for her hit
singles "Greatest Day", "Get Up!", "Shoulda Woulda Coulda" and "Come
as You Are".
This video is a good example of the usage of "woulda", "shoulda",
"coulda", "gonna",
and "gotta" English language
reductions.
Use a
dictionary
to look up words you do not understand.
Lyrics
People say that together we were both sides of the same
coin
That we would shine like Venus in a clear night sky
We thought our love could overcome the circumstances
But my ambition wouldn't allow for compromise
I could see in the distance all the dreams that were
clear to me
And every choice I had to make left you on your own
Somehow the road we started down had split us somewhere
Too late to realise how far apart we'd grown
How I wish I, wish I'd done a little bit more
Now " Shouldawouldacoulda," means I'm out of
time
Coz "Shouldawouldacoulda", can't change
your mind
And I wonder, wonder what I'm
gonna do
"Shouldawouldacoulda" are the last
words of a fool
People ask how it feels to live the kind of life others
dream about
I tell them everybody gotta
face their highs and their lows
And in my life there's a love that I put aside, cause I
was busy loving
Something else
So for every little thing you hold on to, you've got to
let something else go
Fool if I would now forsake the opportunities are fate
I know I'm right where I belong
But sometimes when I'm not so strong I..
Fool if I would now forsake the opportunities are fate
I know I'm right where I belong
But sometimes when I'm not so strong I..
Brian McKnight - Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda
Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer,
songwriter, actor, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist.
McKnight is most recognized for his strong falsetto and belting
range. His work has earned him 16 Grammy Awards nominations, third
only to Zubin Mehta and Snoop Dogg for the record of most Grammy
nominations without a win. McKnight was born in Buffalo, New York to
Claude McKnight, Jr. and Ruth Elaine Willis. His musical career
began in childhood when he became a member of his church choir.
This video is a good example of the usage of "woulda", "gotta", "wanna", "shoulda",
and "coulda" English language
reductions.
Use a
dictionary
to look up words you do not understand.
Lyrics
Hmm, yeah, alright, yeah
Listen
Baby, can you put them bags down
Just wait, hold on for a minute Gotta say a couple things
before you go
Even though I know that we're finished
I don't want you to leave without knowing
Just where I'm coming from, babe
I just wanna say I made a
big mistake
And now I gotta face the
fact that I Shoulda been a better man
The kind of man that you needed Woulda been better off
If I'd done right by you
I coulda done this, I
coulda done that
But I know I can't go back
'Cause now it's just too late
I'm saying shoulda,
woulda,
coulda, yeah
I can tell by the look on your face
You ain't trying to hear what I'm saying
Maybe you done heard all of this before
Girl, this ain't no game that I'm playing
This may be the last chance I'll ever have
To talk to you before you go
So I gotta say, I made a
big mistake
Girl, you know it's killing me, that I Shoulda been a better man
The kind of man that you needed Woulda been better off
If I'd done right by you
I coulda done this, and I
coulda done that
But I know I can't go back
'Cause now it's just too late
I'm saying shoulda,
woulda,
coulda, yeah
I should have done my best to love you, baby
I should have placed no one above you
And now it's killing me more than you know
Letting you go
That's why I
Girl, I know that I shoulda Shoulda been a better man
The kind of man that you needed
(Coulda been a better man
to you, baby) Woulda been better off
(Shoulda been there for
yah, every time you needed me)
If I'd done right by you
(Every time you called me)
I coulda done this, and I
coulda done that
(And you that coulda done
this, coulda done that,
yeah)
But I know I can't go back
(But now I can't go back, baby)
'Cause now it's just too late
(All I need to now is, girl, all I need to know is)
I'm saying shoulda,
woulda, coulda, yeah
(Do you still love me like you used to, baby?)
I know I shoulda, babe
I know I woulda, yeah
(All the things I could have done)
I know I coulda been a
better man
(All the things I shoulda
done)
I'm saying shoulda,
woulda,
coulda, yeah
I know I shoulda, babe
I know I woulda, yeah
I know I coulda been a
better man
I'm saying shoulda,
woulda,
coulda, yeah, yeah
Hinder - Shoulda
Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that
was formed in 2001 by lead singer Austin Winkler, guitarist Joe
"Blower" Garvey, and drummer Cody Hanson with bassist Mike Roden and
guitarist Mark King, joining in 2003, solidifying the line-up. The
band released four studio albums with Winkler; Extreme Behavior
(2005), Take It to the Limit (2008), All American Nightmare (2010)
and Welcome to the Freakshow (2012). Cody Hanson, along with former
lead singer Austin Winkler, wrote the majority of the band's music
on their first four albums. After Winkler left the band in 2013,
they looked for a new lead vocalist, and added Marshal Dutton. They
have since released: When The Smoke Clears (2015) and The Reign
(2017) with their new vocalist. Their seventh studio album is
expected in 2020. The band was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall
of Fame in 2007.
This video is a good example of the usage of "woulda",
"shoulda", and "coulda" English language
reductions.
Use a
dictionary
to look up words you do not understand.
Lyrics
Before I hung up the phone all I could hear
Was the dial tone ring in my ear
If I could go back in time
I'd say those three words
I shoulda,
woulda,
coulda said it back to
you
And this can't be saved if you can't be found
You hung up and left me for dead on the ground
You didn't even say goodbye
I shoulda,
woulda,
coulda said it back to
you
I shoulda,
woulda,
coulda said it back to
you
Now that you're gone I'm wasting away
The life has been siphoned right out of my veins
If I could go back in time
I'd say those three words
I shoulda,
woulda,
coulda said it back to
you
And this can't be saved if you can't be found
You hung up and left me for dead on the ground
You didn't even say goodbye
I shoulda,
woulda,
coulda said it back to
you
I shoulda,
woulda,
coulda said it back to
you
When you said those three words
I kinda freaked out
When you said them first my jaw hit the ground Shoulda,
woulda,
coulda said it back to
you Shoulda,
woulda,
coulda said it back to
you
And this can't be saved if you can't be found
You hung up and left me for dead on the ground
You didn't even say goodbye
And this can't be saved
(And this can't be saved)
If you can't be found
(If you can't be found)
And this can't be saved
I shoulda,
woulda,
coulda said it back to
you
I shoulda,
woulda,
coulda said it back to
you
The Lemonheads - Confetti
The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in
Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse
Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After
their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an
independent/"college rock" band in the late 1980s, the Lemonheads'
popularity with a mass audience grew in 1992 with the major label
album It's a Shame about Ray, which was produced, engineered, and
mixed by The Robb Brothers (Bruce Robb, Dee, and Joe). This was
followed by a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", which
eventually became one of the band's most successful singles. The
Lemonheads were active until 1997 before going on hiatus, but
reformed with a new lineup in 2005 and released The Lemonheads the
following year. The band released its latest album, Varshons 2, in
February 2019.
This video is a good example of the usage of "woulda", "kinda", "shoulda"
and "sorta" English language
reductions.
Use a
dictionary
to look up words you do not understand.
Lyrics
He kindashouldasortawoulda loved her if he
could've
The story's getting closer to the end
He kindashouldasortawoulda loved her if he
could've
He'd rather be alone than pretend
She just wanted him to love her but he didn't
He took to the woods and wandered in it
Walked along and on until they couldn't
Stole himself to tell her that he wouldn't
He kindashouldasortawoulda loved her if he
could've
The story's getting closer to the end
He kindashouldasortawoulda loved her if he
could've
He'd rather be alone than pretend
She just wanted him to love her but he didn't
He took to the woods and wandered in it
Walked along and on until they couldn't
Stole himself to tell her that he wouldn't
He kindashouldasortawoulda loved her if he
could've
The story's getting closer to the end
He kindashouldasortawoulda loved her if he
could've
He'd rather be alone than pretend
Reduction Tips
Audio Program
(Beginner - Listening)
Wanna, Gonna, Hafta: Getting Relaxed With Reduced Forms
of Speech - A five minute audio program of the written script below. The English is spoken at 75% of normal
speed.
AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on
Wordmaster: reduced forms in spoken American English.
RS: We're talking about forms like whaddaya -- meaning "what do
you," as in "whaddaya say?" "Whaddaya Say?" is also the title of a
popular teaching book on reduced forms by Nina Weinstein.
AA: She did extensive research on the subject as a graduate student
at the University of California, Los Angeles, and as a teaching
fellow at Harvard.
NINA WEINSTEIN: "There were a lot of assumptions. People felt that
maybe it was a sort of uneducated kind of speech or maybe it was
caused by informality or things like this. So my master's thesis is
actually on what causes reduced forms.
"And what I found was speed of speech was statistically significant
as a cause for reduced forms, not informality. Though in informal
speech we tend to speak more quickly, and so we think it's the
informality, but actually it's the speed of speech."
RS: "What do you find? Do you find certain patterns of reductions?
Is there a way in which you can almost predict, if you are a speaker
of English as a foreign language, that you can almost predict when
or how it's going to happen?"
NINA WEINSTEIN: "Yes, yes -- in fact, you can learn the reduced
forms before. There are fifty to seventy common reduced forms that
everyone should know from a listening point of view. Sometimes, I
think, teachers feel that students will just pick this up. And they
do pick up some, but they don't pick up all of them."
AA: "Can you give us a few of the most common reduced forms?"
NINA WEINSTEIN: "The three most common reduced forms are wanna,
which is the spoken form of 'want to'; gonna, which is the spoken
form of 'going to' plus a verb; and hafta, which is the spoken form
of 'have to.' And one of these forms will occur about every two
minutes."
AA: "On average in a conversation?"
NINA WEINSTEIN: "Yes, in unscripted spoken English."
AA: "That's amazing. And we're talking about common, everyday
speech. And yet I could see maybe some students who are learning
English who want to maybe apply for a job or meet with an employer
or someone, a professor, and maybe they're afraid that they're going
to sound uneducated or that they're too informal. What do you say
about that?"
NINA WEINSTEIN: "Informality -- informality actually is a very, very
large part of American English. And as I tell my students, the
majority of English is informal, though we do have situations that
call for formality. I don't think that students should worry about
their own use of the reduced forms because non-native speakers
generally don't reach the speed of speech to have reductions. And so
their speech will not reduce naturally.
"I don't advise students unnaturally adapting these forms because,
as I said, they're a natural flow of spoken English. But what I do
suggest that they do is, if they want to sound more natural,
regardless of whether it's an interview situation or just in
everyday speech, they could adopt the three most common reduced
forms in their speech because these are almost like vocabulary
items. They're that common.
"As far as the job interview goes, as I said, I don't think students
should adopt the fifty to seventy common reduced forms in their own
speech. But they need to understand the interviewer, who will be
using reduced forms."
RS: "Now beyond these top three, is there a top ten?"
NINA WEINSTEIN: "I wouldn't say there's a top ten. If I were to just
give you some really common ones, one of the more common question
forms would be 'what do you/what are you' changing to whaddaya. You
can put that together with want to -- 'what do you want to' would be
naturally pronounced as whaddaya wanna: 'Whaddaya wanna do?' 'Whaddaya
wanna have?' Of course, we talked about gonna, which is 'going to'
plus verb.
"We've got gotta, which is 'have got to': 'I've got to do this.'
'I've got to go there.' I think those are common, but I think the
ones that are represented in 'Whaddya Say?' are really the most
common. And I can't cut it off at ten, because actually in my
research I found three hundred and five reduced forms."
A: Nina Weinstein, the author of "Whaddaya Say? Guided Practice in
Relaxed Speech," speaking with us from VOA's Los Angeles bureau.
RS: And we gotta go. That's Wordmaster for this week. To learn more
about American English, visit our Web site, voanews.com/wordmaster.
AA: And our e-mail address is word@voanews.com. With Rosanne Skirble,
I'm Avi Arditti.
Audio Program
(Beginner - Listening)
To Master Rhythms of English, You Really Hafta Learn
Reductions - A five minute audio program of the written script below. The English is spoken at 75% of normal
speed.
AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: expanding
on reductions. When speakers compress a phrase like "going to" into "gonna," or
"what do you" into "whaddaya," that's a reduction. We mentioned their importance
when we talked last week about the natural rhythms of spoken American English.
To explain more, we found a segment we did with Slangman David Burke where he
talked about reductions.
DAVID BURKE: "One of them is 'you.' Instead of saying you, we just say ya.
Instead of saying `How are you?' [we say] `How are ya?' If I were to say to you
'Didja eat yet?' and you replied `No, didju?' we would understand that. 'Didja
eat yet?' Did you eat yet?
"We talked about ya which is a reduction of you, but after the letter d the you
or the ya becomes a 'ja' sound always after the letter d. `Would you like to
come to the movies?' `Wouldja like to come to the movies?' `Did you eat?' `Didja
eat?' And, for some reason after the letter t the ya becomes 'cha' -- `I'll let
you come with me.' `I'll letcha come with me.' `What's that you have in your
hand?' `Whatcha have in your hand?' So, we have about four different ways of
saying `you' which is 'ya,' 'ja,' 'cha' and even 'ju.'"
AA: "This is spoken English, right? Now if you were writing a report or
something for work, you would want to be more careful about using the formal
non-reduced forms."
DAVID BURKE: "Absolutely. But, I would have to say yes and no, because
reductions are used typically in speaking; however, a lot of times when we are
writing to friends or especially in comic books we'll see the reduced form.
"True, in a formal report, you do not want to use reductions, but when we are
writing a letter to somebody we might say in the beginning of the letter `How
are ya?' and spell y-a for ya. That's pretty common."
AA: "Also on the most-often-heard reduction list are the reduced forms of going
to and want to. They become gonna, g-o-n-n-a, and wanna, w-a-n-n-a."
RS: "As in 'I'm gonna be late,' or 'Do you wanna go with me?'"
DAVID BURKE: "And what's a little bit difficult to understand about `gonna' [is
that] `gonna' is the reduction of `going to' only when it is something that is
happening in the future.
"But when it indicates going from one place to another you cannot reduce it. For
example, `I'm going to the movies tonight.' You can't say `I'm gonna the movies
tonight.' Or `Are you going to the market?' You can't say 'Are you gonna the
market?' So, it's only used to indicate the future, and it's really popular."
AA: "Sometimes, when reduction takes place, two different words are reduced to
the same sound."
RS: "That happens with 'and' and 'in'."
DAVID BURKE: "'And' is pronounced 'n': `Rosanne n Avi.' The word `in' -- 'Let's
go inside' -- it's pronounced absolutely the same. `Put the pencil 'n' the box.'
It sounds like `Put the pencil and the box.'"
AA: "So someone coming to this country who is not used to the fast-speaking ways
of your average American is going to be confused by these `wannas, gonnas -- "
RS: "Can't ya, don'tcha."
DAVID BURKE: "Absolutely. In fact just now you said a very common reduction,
`used to' - `usta' means to be accustomed to, to be acclimated to. I'm usta
getting up early. He usta be my best friend. We would never say `used to.'"
RS: "The question I have for you is that given the fact that Americans speak
with reductions, how do people who speak English as a foreign language learn to
tell the difference? How do they learn these reductions?"
DAVID BURKE: "The only way they can learn is to live in this country, and of
course when they arrive they will be absolutely shocked and all of a sudden
someone comes up and says, `How do ya do?' not `How do you do?' They are
stunned."
AA: Slangman David Burke, talking about reductions in a segment from two
thousand. You can learn about his language teaching materials at slangman.com.
And that's WORDMASTER for this week. Archives are at voanews.com/wordmaster. And
our e-mail is word@voanews.com. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti.
MUSIC: "Whatcha Gonna Do With A Cowboy?" / Chris LeDoux/Garth Brooks
Reduced
Forms
Broadcast on "Coast to Coast": January 16, 2003
AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble and this week on Wordmaster, English
teacher Lida Baker explains some of the shortcuts that work their way into
conversational American speech.
RS: They're called reduced forms, or reductions. And, since it was noon when we
spoke to Lida, she served up the perfect lunchtime example:
BAKER: "So tell me, jeet yet?"
RS: "No we haven't eaten yet (laughter)."
BAKER: "See, you understood what I said, 'jeet.' Now if we were to pronounce
that the way it's written, we would say 'did you eat yet?' But in rapid, spoken
English, the 'did you' gets reduced. Do you see how the nature of the consonants
changes, it's not 'did you,' it's 'juh' Let's suppose that you had already eaten
lunch, so I could ask you 'hoodjeet with with?'"
RS: "Who did you eat with?"
BAKER: "That's right. Whadja eet?"
RS: "'What did you eat?' to translate."
BAKER: "Right. The reductions occur in words that are not stressed. So going
back over those three examples, which admittedly are rather extreme -- and we'll
go back and look at a few cases that are less extreme -- notice that it's the
auxiliary verb, which is 'did,' and the pronoun 'you' gets reduced, and the word
'eat,' which is the verb in this sentence, is the stressed word. The word 'yet'
is unstressed; it's an adverb. So it comes out 'jeet yet?'
Now let me give you some examples of reductions that occur frequently, or even
all the time. One example would be the preposition 'to,' which we normally in
spoken language pronounce 'ta,' 'I hafta go,' 'I hafta,' right? Haf-ta. It's not
'to.' Same thing with the word 'you.' How does that get reduced?"
RS: "Ya."
BAKER: "That's right, it becomes 'ya.' So instead of 'how are you doing,' we say
'how ya doin'?"
AA: "You drop the g on doing."
BAKER: "We drop the g. So that would be -- remember, there are two changes that
occur in pronunciation when forms are reduced. One is that consonants change or
disappear, and other one is that there's a change in the vowel quality. So 'how
ya doin',' the word 'are' disappeared all together, the 'you' changed to 'ya'
and on the word 'doing' the g dropped."
RS: "It would sound really strange if I would say in casual conversation, 'how
are you doing?'"
AA: "Unless you're talking to someone who's hard of hearing or you know doesn't
understand the language very well."
BAKER: "Yeah, it would be very unnatural. Think of other forms like 'gotta.' 'I
gotta go.' We don't say 'I have got to go.' The word 'have' drops, 'got to'
becomes 'gotta.' Notice 'got to,' when we pronounce them together, the 't' in
American English changes to a ‘d.’ So there's a example of where, as I said
before, consonant quality changes."
RS: "And we see this with 'going to,' 'I'm gonna go.'"
BAKER: "And very interesting, because most of my students, even at a low
intermediate level, are familiar with 'gonna.' They've heard it so many times in
movies and in songs and so on, so much so that I'll receive essays where the
students have written g-o-n-n-a. But what I'm teaching people is academic
English, and so I have to teach them that it's not OK to write reduced forms.
It's OK to say them, but you shouldn't write them."
AA: "So is any of this related to social class or to education?"
BAKER: "I think the use of reduced forms is tied more to the situation. You'll
find that when people are talking with their friends in a more casual situation,
where we're feeling more relaxed, we tend to use more reduced forms -- because,
one of the reasons that we do reduce forms, that we do have so many reductions
in our speech, is that it's just much easier to pronounce words. Whenever we
pronounce consonants, the mouth has to be in a certain position, and to move
from one position to another requires a certain amount of muscular effort."
RS: Lida Baker teaches at the American Language Center of the University of
California at Los Angeles. She also writes textbooks for English learners.
AA: You'll find our previous Wordmaster segments with Lida on our Web site,
voanews.com/wordmaster. And our e-mail address is word@voanews.com. Or write us
at VOA Wordmaster, Washington DC 20237 USA. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi
Arditti.
MUSIC: "What You Gonna Do"/The Jeanette Williams Band
Pronunciation Tips
Are You How You Talk?
(Beginner - Listening,
reading)
A video lesson to
help with your understanding of American dialects.
The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page.
Are You How You Talk?
(Beginner - Listening)
An audio lesson to
help with your understanding of American dialects. The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this
audio program.
Improve Your Pronunciation by Training Your
Ears
(Beginner - Listening)
An audio lesson to
help with your
pronunciation and English language
reductions. The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed. Great English pronunciation tips.
Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this
audio program.
