"I'm gonna go to the store." Gonna is a contraction of "going to." It is informal, spoken, and common. It is not written in formal English. It appears in dialogue, in texting, and in song lyrics. It is a word of intention. It signals a future action. It is quick and easy to say.

Gonna has been in English since the 1800s. It is not a mistake. It is a natural evolution. Languages compress. Sounds drop. "Going to" becomes "gonna." It is a feature, not a bug. Linguists study it. Teachers sometimes correct it. But in speech, it is everywhere.

Related contractions

• Wanna: want to.
• Gotta: got to.
• Lemme: let me.
• Dunno: don't know.

Gonna is not rude. It is just casual. It fits in a conversation with friends. It fits in a text message. It does not fit in a business report. The context decides. In the right context, gonna is perfect. It is a word that moves. It is a word that goes.