Lesson 2 | To into of

When I speak quickly, I often pronounce the word “to” as “ta.” For example, I say, “I go ta the grocery store ta buy food.” Listen to this change.

Listen

I go ta the café ta get coffee.

Read

I go ta the café ta get coffee.

Okay, let’s practice this change until you’re comfortable with it.

Listen to these examples.

He went ta the library ta get a book.
He went ta McDonalds to get a burger.
He went ta the post office ta get stamps.
Go ta school ta get an education.
Break the law, go ta jail.

Read and Repeat

For practice read these sentences slowly and change “to” to “ta.”

He went ta the library ta get a book.
He went ta McDonalds to get a burger.
He went ta the post office ta get stamps.
Go ta school ta get an education.
Break the law, go ta jail.

Now read these sentences quickly as you might say them in conversation.

He went ta the library ta get a book.
He went ta McDonalds to get a burger.
He went ta the post office ta get stamps.
Go ta school ta get an education.
Break the law, go ta jail.

Repeat these sentences quickly.

I went ta the movies.

I went ta the store.

I went ta the park.

I went ta the city.

I went ta the school.

Repeat these sentences quickly.

I need to buy a book today.

I went to my friend’s house.

Tomorrow, I go to work.

I go to school in the city.

I need to learn to stay calm.

The word “to” also changes to “ta” in the words “into” and “onto.”

I went “inta” the store.

Did you hear it? I went “inta” the store. And,

I put the book “onta” the table.

Listen for the change.

I put the hat onta the table.

Listen

Now listen to these examples.

He put the envelope inta the fire.

He put the envelope inta the mailbox.

He put the book inta the box.

He put the book onta the table.

He put the magazine onta the stairs.

Now read these sentences first slowly, then read them quickly changing the “to” sound to “ta.”

He put the envelope into the fire.

He put the envelope into the mailbox.

He put the book into the box.

He put the book onto the table.

He put the magazine onto the stairs.

Read and Change

Read these sentences and change them to say them quickly.

I went into the store to buy a shirt.

I got into the car to go home.

She got onto the bus to go to work.

He wants to get onto a soccer team.

Let’s go on to new things.

And here’s another small change, the word “of” is often pronounced quickly as “a.” For example, “a box of crayons” is spoken as “a box a crayons.”

Listen

A bowl of apples. A bowl a apples.

I put a bottle of water into the box. I put a bottle a water inta the box.

Now read and repeat these short phrases quickly for practice.

A pair a shoes.

A pair a boots.

A glass a juice.

A bottle a cider.

A basket a stuffed animals.

Repeat (listening)

Remember you must be able to use these change correctly. You must be able to say the phrases slowly and also use the changes when speaking quickly. Try this, first say the phrase slowly and then say it a quickly, changing “of” to “a.”

A pair of shoes.

A pair of boots.

A glass of juice.

A bottle of cider.

A basket of stuffed animals.

Here’s another little change. Instead of saying “out of” in conversation, I say “outa.” For example, “They came outa the bakery.” Can you hear the change?

Listen

They came outa the bakery.

Read

They came outa the bakery.

Listen

Listen to these examples.

He took the mail outa the box.
She took some crackers outa the box.
She took a drink outa the bottle.
He took his keys outa his pocket.

Repeat (reading)

Try reading and changing these sentences using “outa.”

He took the mail outa the box.
She took some crackers outa the box.
She took a drink outa the bottle.
He took his keys outa his pocket.

Listen to these sentence spoken slowly, then you repeat them speeding them up.

I got out of my car.

She came out of the store.

The car came out of the parking lot.

She got out of school early.

She can’t get out of bed.

Listen, Read, Repeat

Okay, let’s practice a little by listening to sentences, reading the sentences, then speaking the sentences quickly.

He got out of the car to talk to her.

He went into the house to talk to her.

He got onto the train to go to work.

She got a bottle of water to take to work.

The car was out of gas.

Notice there are a lota apples on that tree.

And notice that I said, “a lota.” The word “of” often changes in many combination words, for example, with the words “kind of,” “sort of,” “a couple of,” and “a lot of.” All of these words sound with the “a” sound.

“Here’s a buncha bananas.”

“a cupa water for tea”

This is a very common change. Notice this change in normal conversation and try to make the change yourself as you speak.

Okay, listen for the changes you’ve learned.

Hi! Are we goin ta the movies tanight?

Sure, I got a couple a tickets online.

Great, I wanna get outa here. I’m bored.

Does Sally wanna come?

Na, not tanight, she wansta, but she’s has ta work tamorrow.