English

Alternative forms

• gon
• gon'
• gunna
• gonner, gunner

Contraction

gonna

1. (with bare infinitive) Nonstandard spelling of going to when followed by an infinitive verb: used to express a future action.
   • 1987, Stock Aitken Waterman (writers), Rick Astley (singer), “Never Gonna Give You Up” (song), in Whenever You Need Somebody (album), RCA Records (label), refrain:

     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.

Usage notes

• This spelling, like any nonstandard spelling, risks appearing condescending. Even when going to has the pronunciation that gonna denotes, it is usually spelled <going to>.
• Gonna, like the pronunciation it denotes, only occurs when indicating a future tense (something that is bound to happen or is planned); hence “I’m gonna go now”, but not *“I’m gonna the mall.”

See also

• to (particle)
• coulda
• gotta
• shoulda
• wanna
• woulda
• I'mma

Italian

Etymology

From late Latin gunna

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡonna/, /ˈɡɔnna/

Noun

gonna f ‎(plural gonne)

1. skirt