Gonna

Tom Petty · Jan 29, 2007

i'm gonna pour myself a nightcap at this very second.

huntsie · Jan 29, 2007

Dale Cooper said:

I used to be adamantly pro "gonna" until an editor got me thinking when he said: "When you're dealing with bad grammar in a quote, it's your judgment whether you change it or not. But always change "gonna" to "going to."

I don't know if anyone is where I was once on this, but the editor's point was: Don't print "gonna," because it's not a word.

I had never really looked at it that way. I had just thought, "He said 'gonna,' so I have to write 'gonna.'"

But if someone said his coach "axed" him to switch from cornerback to safety, I don't know anyone who wouldn't change it to "asked." It took that editor's comment for me to realize why "axe" to "ask," and "gonna" to "going to," are the same thing.

I realize some people might read this and think I'm just stating the obvious. But it helped me, and if anyone else is where I was, I hope it helps you too. I think often we get so grounded in our own side of these debates that we don't really stop and think that other people aren't coming from the same place as we are. Sometimes we need to simplify our arguments, go to the root of the argument, to ensure that other people will understand what we really mean.

For example, there was the recent thread of "Never write that someone 'grabbed' 10 rebounds." And when someone would ask why, posters would say, "Because it's bad writing." But if there's really going to be a discussion with some understanding, there needs to be an explanation of why it's bad writing.

My philosophical soapbox for the day. And yes, I know "gonna" is listed on dictionary.com. But come on.
Click to expand...

OK then. Works for me

2muchcoffeeman · Jan 29, 2007

I had so many jocks and coaches using "gonna" and other non-words that I finally entered it into my word processor's Autocorrect function. Now gonna automagically becomes going to, and if I'm going for color, I just undo the autochange.

In fact, the number of personal "contractions" I put in that Autocorrect function astounds me, but the function itself is useful.

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Gonna

Tom Petty Guest

huntsie Active Member

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