ima

Meaning

1. 1phrasefixed phraseinformalslang

   A casual spoken or written shortening of I am going to, used before a verb to say what you plan to do.

   Grammar: Always followed by a base verb: ima call you later.

   Patterns

   • ima do something
   • ima be somewhere

   Ima grab some food, want anything?

   Ima text you when I get home.

   Ima head out early tonight.

Common combinations

ima go

Ima go now, talk later.

ima call

Ima call you after class.

ima be

Ima be there in ten minutes.

ima tell

Ima tell you a secret.

Synonyms and how they differ

imma

Imma is a more common spelling of the same contraction, and means exactly the same.

gonna

Gonna means going to and needs I'm before it, so ima is shorter still.

I'm going to

I'm going to is the full standard form, which suits formal and written English.

Word family

imma phrase

a more common spelling of the same contraction

gonna verb

informal spoken form of going to

Commonly confused: ima or IMA?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “ima”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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