what do u mean by ain't?
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----- Not an ESL teacher -----
This is not proper standard English.
Depending on the context, it could mean:
"Shouldn't we be doing something good?"
This is not proper standard English.
Depending on the context, it could mean:
"Shouldn't we be doing something good?"
jkl
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----- Not an ESL teacher -----
The expression "ain't" is an informal contraction which works for all forms of to be.
There are many contexts which it indeed means simply "aren't."
But here if you state:
*Aren't we should be doing something good.
or
*Aren't we be doing something good
it does not work at all. That is wrong - complete nonsense!
A possible way to say it correctly could be
Aren't we doing something good?
but you have changed the original one too much.
So, in order to be able to understand Usher's original sentence, context is needed.
The expression "ain't" is an informal contraction which works for all forms of to be.
There are many contexts which it indeed means simply "aren't."
But here if you state:
*Aren't we should be doing something good.
or
*Aren't we be doing something good
it does not work at all. That is wrong - complete nonsense!
A possible way to say it correctly could be
Aren't we doing something good?
but you have changed the original one too much.
So, in order to be able to understand Usher's original sentence, context is needed.
Abstract Idea
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riquecohen
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Yes. ain´t is not used in proper English, but is frequently heard nevertheless.
There´s nothing wrong with "I am your friend. Am I not?"
OPENED EYES
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Neither a teacher nor native speaker
Ain't is short form not standerd
am not, is not, are not, has not, or have not
He ain't going.
"Can I have a fag?" "I ain't got none left."
As my old ma used to say, you can't spend what you ain't got.
So he's a bit of an idiot, but he's still my bruv, ain't he?
I ain't done nothing wrong.
Lend me a fiver - I ain't got no money right now.
That sounds awful - Sinatra he ain't!
Ain't is short form not standerd
am not, is not, are not, has not, or have not
He ain't going.
"Can I have a fag?" "I ain't got none left."
As my old ma used to say, you can't spend what you ain't got.
So he's a bit of an idiot, but he's still my bruv, ain't he?
I ain't done nothing wrong.
Lend me a fiver - I ain't got no money right now.
That sounds awful - Sinatra he ain't!
cheers
Pedroski
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My etymological dictionary says ain't was originally a contraction of 'am not', but came to be used for 'are not' and 'is not' as well. Used by Cockneys, it was apparently banned from 'proper English', whatever that may be!
I don't believe my dictionary!
If you ask me; Do you have any wool? I would reply: Na, I ain't got none. This use of ain't is equivalent to 'I haven't got any' I'm pretty sure that ain't has two flavours: 1) am not, are not 2) from the French verb 'avoir' = have: J'ai = I have or J'n'ai pas = I haven't. = ain't got.
I don't believe my dictionary!
If you ask me; Do you have any wool? I would reply: Na, I ain't got none. This use of ain't is equivalent to 'I haven't got any' I'm pretty sure that ain't has two flavours: 1) am not, are not 2) from the French verb 'avoir' = have: J'ai = I have or J'n'ai pas = I haven't. = ain't got.
philo2009
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Ain't is a nonstandard contraction that can in fact equate to any form of the present tense of the verb 'be' or the verb 'have', illustrated respectively by
It ain't easy.
(= isn't)
and
We ain't done it yet.
(= haven't)
Despite its nonstandard status, it is not unusual to hear it employed humorously by educated speakers (rather as one might affect an archaism for stylistic or other reasons), and, although nowadays most commonly associated with working-class (esp. SE-British) speech, it was once almost equally common amongst the British aristocracy!
It ain't easy.
(= isn't)
and
We ain't done it yet.
(= haven't)
Despite its nonstandard status, it is not unusual to hear it employed humorously by educated speakers (rather as one might affect an archaism for stylistic or other reasons), and, although nowadays most commonly associated with working-class (esp. SE-British) speech, it was once almost equally common amongst the British aristocracy!
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I think its use is quite widespread and many people use it in informal speech who would be called 'educated speakers' and not just in a humorous way. The word does annoy some people, but it has been around for hundreds of years and isn't going away, and it is still heard in aristocratic BrE. It's easy and lazy, which accounts both for its popularity and the criticism.
Mind you 'Ain't we should' is a spectacular piece of usage like 'Is you is or is you ain't'. ;-)
Mind you 'Ain't we should' is a spectacular piece of usage like 'Is you is or is you ain't'. ;-)
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Louis Jordan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I got a gal who's always late
Any time we have a date
But I love her
Yes I love her
I'm gonna walk right up to her gate
And see if I can get it straight
'Cause I want her
I'm gonna ask her
Is you is or is you ain't my baby?
The way you're actin' lately makes me doubt
Yous is still my baby-baby
Seems my flame in your heart's done gone out
A woman is a creature that has always been strange
Just when you're sure of one
You find she's gone and made a change
Is you is or is you ain't my baby
Maybe baby's found somebody new
Or is my baby still my baby true?
Is you is or is you ain't my baby
Maybe baby's found somebody new
Or is my baby still my baby true?
I got a gal who's always late
Any time we have a date
But I love her
Yes I love her
I'm gonna walk right up to her gate
And see if I can get it straight
'Cause I want her
I'm gonna ask her
Is you is or is you ain't my baby?
The way you're actin' lately makes me doubt
Yous is still my baby-baby
Seems my flame in your heart's done gone out
A woman is a creature that has always been strange
Just when you're sure of one
You find she's gone and made a change
Is you is or is you ain't my baby
Maybe baby's found somebody new
Or is my baby still my baby true?
Is you is or is you ain't my baby
Maybe baby's found somebody new
Or is my baby still my baby true?
Tdol
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Have you heard 'Is she or is she ain't' by the Charmer- the name used by Louis Farrakhan (the head of the Nation of Islam) when he was a calypso artist.
YouTube - Is she is or is she ain't - The Charmer
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