5 Pronounciation Shortcuts You Can Use to Sound Like a Native Speaker

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 English speakers are lazy. 

It's true! We’re always looking for shortcuts in our pronunciation. So here are 5 key native speaker pronunciation shortcuts you need to know to understand fast spoken English and improve your accent. Keep in mind that these are for spoken English ONLY. They are improper grammar when used in writing.


1. Been

You may want to pronounce this one "been" with the long EEs like in seen and feel. But because this word is much more common than those ones, it often gets shortened to sound like  “bin”. 
  • Example: I have been to 12 different countries -> I have bin to 12 different countries
 

2. Have

Speaking of the verb “have” there are lots of shortcuts for this verb too. We see this shortcut mostly when talking about past tense modals. The have is replaced by just an a.
  • should have -> shoulda
  • could have -> coulda
  • would have  -> woulda

3. Going to

Another shortcut you’ll hear using the “a” ending is for the future tense “going to.” This compound tense is often replaced by Gonna.
  • Ex. I'm going to go to the store -> I’m gonna go to the store. 
 

4. Want to

The same happens with want to, becoming wanna
  • Ex. Do you want to come with me? -> Do you wanna come with me?

 

5. To

Another shortcut for pronouncing “to” is to turn it into just the "T" sound and remove the "O" sound. 
  • Ex. Let’s go to the beach -> Let’s go t’the beach, removing the O sound.

 

 

Want to hear these shortcuts in action?  

Click here to watch my video on the Britt's English Club Instagram to hear what these sound like in a Canadian accent.

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