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Jarman Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Do not and does not

Hi. I was listening to "neutral milk hotel" band's song called "My dream girl don't exists", yes exactly "don't". Why is songwriter use "don't" for a girl? When "he,she,it"= does not.
  

Top answer

The title is actually "My dream girl don't exist " (not "exists"). This is incorrect in standard English (should be "doesn't", as you say). Such use of "don't" for "doesn't" is not uncommon among people who don't care much about correct use of language.

— GPY

  • The title is actually "My dream girl don't exist " (not "exists").
  • This is incorrect in standard English (should be "doesn't", as you say).
  • Such use of "don't" for "doesn't" is not uncommon among people who don't care much about correct use of language.
  • It could also, in this context, be deliberately incorrect for effect.
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21 Answers
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The title is actually "My dream girl don't exist" (not "exists"). This is incorrect in standard English (should be "doesn't", as you say). Such use of "don't" for "doesn't" is not uncommon among people who don't care much about correct use of language. It could also, in this context, be deliberately incorrect for effect.
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JarmanHi. I was listening to "neutral milk hotel" band's song called "My dream girl don't exists", yes exactly "don't".
This is a non-standard dialect of English, called African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) by linguists who study languages, dialects and culture.
There are many changes to standard English in this dialect, and you will hear them in son
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What do you say about grammar in my post? About mistakes i mean.
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AlpheccaStarsThis is a non-standard dialect of English, called African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) by linguists who study languages, dialects and culture.
"don't" for "doesn't" is not only African-American. It's heard in various UK dialects too. (By the way, I don't think this band is African-American.)
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JarmanWhat do you say about grammar in my post? About mistakes i mean.
What would you say about the grammar in my post? About the mistakes, I mean.

Hi. I was listening to Neutral Milk Hotel's song called "My dream girl don't exist.", Yes, they wrote "don't". Why doe
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I suppose the main reason the author of the lyrics chose "don't" over "doesn't" was that it better fit the meter of the song.

Anyway, don't look for excellent grammar in song lyrics.

Oh, and welcome to the forums!
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ozzourtiI suppose the main reason the author of the lyrics chose "don't" over "doesn't" was that it better fit the meter of the song.
Good point.

I have never heard of "Neutral Milk Hotel", but they are described in one place as a "college band", and this and the intellectual(?)-sounding name make me suspect that probably the writers of this song knew
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GPYIt's heard in various UK dialects too. (By the way, I don't think this band is African-American
Eminem was one of the "blackest" white-guy rappers, at least in terms of the speech patterns in his lyrics.
A sub-standard grammar, when it becomes part of a popular music genre, spreads easily among the rebellious youth.
You can't make it to the top of
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AlpheccaStarsEminem was one of the "blackest" white-guy rappers, at least in terms of the speech patterns in his lyrics.A sub-standard grammar, when it becomes part of a popular music genre, spreads easily among the rebellious youth. You can't make it to the top of the charts in the rap generation without adopting the lingo.
So would you say that white people
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GPYSo would you say that white people in the US who use "don't" for "doesn't" are always copying black people?
No, the history of AAVE goes back a very long time, and the pattern also appears in certain southern US rural dialects. It's hard to say who copied from whom.

But the modern urban dialect seems to be the "gold standard" for certain genres of
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