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LouiST Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

Ain't

Next question I have.

It's about "ain't". Once I saw ain't is used for "am not, is not, are not", but another time it was explained as "am not, is not, are not, has not, have not". Which one's right?

And do we only use "ain't" if it's the main verb? (For example: ... that it ain't real)
Or can we also "ain't" as an auxiliary verb? Like: I ain't going to school tomorrow. And if we would use ain't also for have not/has not, would that be correct: I ain't lost my key. / She ain't been doing her homework?

And the last one, do we only use ain't to speak? Or may we write it?

Thanks!
L Emotion: smile
  

Top answer

The word "ain't" can mean various things and can be used in many different ways. This is non-standard, "country"-type speech, often ungrammatical. I ain't (am not) going.

— Anonymous

  • The word "ain't" can mean various things and can be used in many different ways.
  • This is non-standard, "country"-type speech, often ungrammatical.
  • I ain't (am not) going.
  • He ain't (is not) coming.
  • They ain't (are not) the same ones who was (were) here yesterday.
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13 Answers
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The word "ain't" can mean various things and can be used in many different ways. This is non-standard, "country"-type speech, often ungrammatical.

I ain't (am not) going.

He ain't (is not) coming.

They ain't (are not) the same ones who was (were) here yesterday.

He ain't got (does not have) nothing (anything) to show for it.

They ain't got (do not ha
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Ain't is informal and non-standard English, but is very widely used to mean all of the above.

'Can we write it?' Well, you just did - lots of times.
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Thanks!

Haha yeah you are right but it would be kinda tricky don't use ain't even if my question was about that :-) So just use "ain't" if you talk to your friends not in letters..
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louiSTSo just use "ain't" if you talk to your friends not in letters..
I have a better idea. Don't use "ain't" even if you're talking to your friends except if they are native speakers of English and they themselves use "ain't" several times. You won't fit in well with most speakers of English if you use "ain't", so be sure that the people you're talking to
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Sorry that I came back to that so late, but I still have a question:

Ain't no - What's the formal form?

For example:
Ain't no snow - There ain't no snow -> There isn't no snow -> makes the sentences positive. (two times negative) That would mean it has snowed. And it has snow on the ground.
Why not: There ain't any snow? There isn't any snow ?? .....
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The phrase "...ain't no..." can be used in numerous ways and can mean different things depending on the context and the structure of the sentence. Often it is used more like an intensive, for emphasis only, and has no real grammatical function.

"Ain't no snow here." can mean "It doesn't snow around here." or "There's no snow around here." or "You won't find any snow around here, if that'
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louiSTAin't no - What's the formal form?
There isn't any really "formal" form. There is only the standard form, suitable for both formal and informal situations.

"ain't no" = "isn't any" or "aren't any" depending whether the subject is singular or plural; plus "am not a" for the first person.

(There) Ain't no snow ~ There isn't an
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Thank you both.
Very clear! :-)

But would it be wrong If I say: 'Ain't any snow' or do we only use 'Ain't no snow'?

LS
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Hi,

I hope you realize that there are lots of people who never say ain't.

Clive
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louiSTBut would it be wrong If I say: 'Ain't any snow' or do we only use 'Ain't no snow'?
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