[General] what's "aint" means?

[Adryansyah]

I usually found the "aint" word in songs lyric, movie's dialog etc. But I don't actually understand what that's mean. Thanks before

 

[emsr2d2]

I usually found the "aint" word in songs lyric, movie's dialog etc. But I don't actually understand what that's mean. Thanks before

It means "is not", "am not" or "are not" depending on the word that comes before it. It's very popular in song lyrics and you'll hear it on TV and films but my advice is don't use it! It is seen as completely incorrect by some, "common" (ie lower class) by some, uneducated by others, rude by some people. You get the idea.

You'll hear it and now you know what it means but don't use it.

 

[TheParser]

I usually found the "aint" word in songs lyric, movie's dialog etc. But I don't actually understand what that's mean. Thanks before

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


I ain't coming. = I am not coming.

You ain't a friend. = You are not a friend.

It ain't Friday. = It is not Friday.

Ain't you coming? = Aren't you coming?

Ain't you ever seen that? = Haven't you ever seen that?

***

In the United States, the word ain't is considered by most people to be a

sign of uneducated people. Educated people do use it occasionally when

they wish to be humorous or very relaxed in speech:

Tom: Jim is lucky to have Mona for his wife.

George: Ain't that true!

***

If you used it at the university, I think that most professors would have a heart

attack. In other words, avoid it -- unless you wish to be humorous, relaxed, or

maybe sarcastic:

Sue: Are you coming to my party?

Calvin: No, I ain't! Your parties are so boring.

 

[Adryansyah]

Now it's clear to me. Thanks

:up:

 

[Tdol]

In the United States, the word ain't is considered by most people to be a

sign of uneducated people.

In BrE, it was used in the past by many members of the upper classes, who were happy to break many rules of grammar, and it was the middle classes who looked down on it. Today, it is widely used in informal and colloquial language, but it would be wrong to use it in almost all language learning contexts, especially exams.

I was taught not to use it, but I do use it colloquially as I like it. However, I would never use it in the classroom unless a question about its usage came up. ;-)

 

[BobK]

I usually found the "aint" word in songs lyric, movie's dialog etc. But I don't actually understand what that's mean. Thanks before

ain't means any of these: am not, 'm not, [he/she/it] is not, [he/'she/it] isn't, [he/she/it]'s not, [we] are not, [we]'re not, [you] are not, [you]'re not, [you] aren't, [they] are not, [they] aren't, [they]'re not. It's a pretty tempting shortcut, useful in ELF, but considered lazy, ignorant, or uneducated in some circles (as others have said), so to be avoided in exams! ;-)

b

PS - got the acronym wrong - I meant 'English as a Lingua Franca' ( English used as a means of communication between two non.native speakers).

 

[emsr2d2]

I usually [STRIKE]found[/STRIKE] hear the word "aint" [STRIKE]word[/STRIKE] in [STRIKE]songs lyric[/STRIKE] song lyrics, [STRIKE]movie's dialog[/STRIKE] movie dialogues etc but I don't actually understand what [STRIKE]that's mean[/STRIKE] it means. Thanks [STRIKE]before[/STRIKE] in advance.

I've just done some corrections to your original post. See above. Your title should have read "What does ain't mean?"

 

[BobK]

...Your title should have read "What does ain't mean?"

In the OP's defence, although the s is just wrong, s/he may have heard the question as 'What's it mean?'. The voicing of the s from 'does' gets lost (assimilating to the /t/ of 'What'), and I imagine most people who have learnt this by ear aren't aware of the 'does' which is implicit in the question 'What's it mean?' I mean, it's a reasonable (though wrong) assumption that the full question is :cross:What is it mean?:cross:

b

 

[emsr2d2]

In the OP's defence, although the s is just wrong, s/he may have heard the question as 'What's it mean?'. The voicing of the s from 'does' gets lost (assimilating to the /t/ of 'What'), and I imagine most people who have learnt this by ear aren't aware of the 'does' which is implicit in the question 'What's it mean?' I mean, it's a reasonable (though wrong) assumption that the full question is :cross:What is it mean?:cross:

b

I'm quite happy with that defence, but the title question ended with the word "means", not "mean". Had it said "What's ain't mean?" I would probably have left it alone.

 

[BobK]

I was going to add this to my PS in my first note (https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/154302-whats-aint-means.html#post796060), but feared it might be thought a bit unprincipled - given that TheParser might no longer feel he 'liked' it! ;-)

To take one example, one NNS knows that 'you are can be abbreviated to 'you're' but doesn't know that in this case the /u:/ becomes /ɔ:/ - they have always said /ju:ǝ/ [as some native speakers do]; when the other NNS correctly says /jɔ:/ the first NNS hears it as 'your', and the communication breaks down. "You ain't" avoids that problem. As a teacher, I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending its use, but I recognize that in the right contexts it can be a very useful word. )

b

 

[allenman]

but my advice is don't use it!

Hey now...ain't no one in my part of the world that don't use ain't even if I ain't educated or even if I am.. [/turn sarcasm off]. Actually where I am from, "ain't" is common speech regardless of education.

Where I'm from

Not a teacher

 

[Tdol]

I don't like the use of uneducated as a criticism of language usage, but it is so common to hear it used when ain't crops up.

 

[emsr2d2]

I deliberated over the use of "uneducated" in my original post because it's not my personal opinion when I hear "ain't". However, it is a commonly held assumption so I thought it best to put it in.

When I said "Don't use it" I meant don't use it in exams, written or oral, and not in formal/business situations. As far as I'm concerned, once a learner is confident and competent with the language as a whole, they can throw just about anything in and get away with it as long as it's appropriate to the context!

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


(1) IMHO, I think that an English helpline has the duty to tell learners that some words or constructions

are, indeed, "bad" or the speech of UNeducated people.

(2) Here in the United States, some people say "He DON"T love me." People who speak like that

should be told that it is not standard English and that they should not speak like that in public.

(3) Some "kind" people in this country say, "Oh, don't hurt their feelings. Their English is simply a

variety of English. We must respect all kinds of English."

(4) The people who demand that we honor all varieties of English, however, would not themselves speak

or write like that in a million years.

(5) Furthermore, we are being very condescending in telling the "He don't love me" speakers that their

"variety" is worthy of respect. It is not. If the president or the Queen spoke like that, would anyone

respect them? I think not.

(6) If we really respect people, we should teach them proper English so that they can enter mainstream

society -- IMHO.

 

[BobK]

I don't entirely agree with TP, but I hope we can keep the party polite (I know TP can, but other readers may show less self-restraint! This is just a friendly warning...;-))

b

 

[Tdol]

I deliberated over the use of "uneducated" in my original post because it's not my personal opinion when I hear "ain't". However, it is a commonly held assumption so I thought it best to put it in.

I'm sorry- I didn't mean it as a criticism of your post- just a general lament about this label which has been stuck on ain't, which has become so ingrained, that it has become unavoidable- you're right to say this because it has been drummed into so many people's heads that a description of its usage must include this. Still, it's rewarding to see it survive and thrive despite all that they have thrown at it. ;-)

 

[konungursvia]

'Uneducated' isn't so bad. But you can call it an 'extremely informal register' if you prefer. The term doesn't bother me any more than "in'nit" or "som'it" (sp?).

 

[5jj]

The term doesn't bother me any more than "in'nit" or "som'it" (sp?).

Sommat?

 

[Tdol]

It's summat to me. ;-)

 

[5jj]

It's summat to me. ;-)

Yeah, well, like, i kn live with that. kinda. innit.