Gonna Meaning
/ɡən.ə/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbA modal used to express a future action that is being planned or prepared for in the present.
Sentence Examples
I'm gonna shoot him.
I think I'm gonna go to sleep.
Let's face it, it's impossible. We're never gonna make it.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She ____ be here at 8 PM, because she confirmed her flight.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am ____ take a short break now and finish the rest of my homework later this evening.
Word Origin & History
Contraction of going to. Attested since 1913 (OED, "gonna"). The pronunciation of present participles with the sound n rather than ng has a long history (see g-dropping on Wikipedia).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Well, you ain't got much longer to laugh. I'm coming, and I'm gonna put one in your dirty hide for every lying crack that you made about me, see?"
— 1931, Mervyn LeRoy, Little Caesar:
"Never gonna give you up, / Never gonna let you down, / Never gonna run around and desert you. / Never gonna make you cry, / Never gonna say goodbye, / Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."
— 1987, Stock Aitken Waterman, “Never Gonna Give You Up”, in Whenever You Need Somebody, performed by Rick Astley, RCA Records:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She ____ be here at 8 PM, because she confirmed her flight.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am ____ take a short break now and finish the rest of my homework later this evening.