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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
This Can't Be Correct...
I heard this phrase today: "Why aren't I in the movie?"
I heard a celebrity say it and there is on way it could possibly be correct. I also hear people use the phrase "Aren't I." That, likewise, can't be correct, either!
I heard a celebrity say it and there is on way it could possibly be correct. I also hear people use the phrase "Aren't I." That, likewise, can't be correct, either!
Top answer
Hi Anon It is correct, and it's one of the little oddities of English that you just have to accept. There is no standard contraction for "am not". In other words, most English speakers don't use "amn't".
- Hi Anon It is correct, and it's one of the little oddities of English that you just have to accept.
- There is no standard contraction for "am not".
- In other words, most English speakers don't use "amn't".
- Instead we use "aren't" for questions.
- In sentences that are not questions, we contract "I" and "am" (I'm not).
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3 Answers
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Hi Anon
It is correct, and it's one of the little oddities of English that you just have to accept.
There is no standard contraction for "am not". In other words, most English speakers don't use "amn't". Instead we use "aren't" for questions. In sentences that are not questions, we contract "I" and "am" (I'm not).
It is correct, and it's one of the little oddities of English that you just have to accept.
There is no standard contraction for "am not". In other words, most English speakers don't use "amn't". Instead we use "aren't" for questions. In sentences that are not questions, we contract "I" and "am" (I'm not).
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I was taught as a child (I'm English, not American) to respond - why am I not..? - but this is viewed as very old fashioned and clumsy - most people do say Why aren't I..?
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Hi Bettina
We also use the uncontracted form in American English, but the uncontracted form tends to sound more formal, and as you mentioned, may often sound clumsy in spoken English.
By the way, did you notice that one of the sources I linked to in my previous post was the Oxford Dictionary?
We also use the uncontracted form in American English, but the uncontracted form tends to sound more formal, and as you mentioned, may often sound clumsy in spoken English.
By the way, did you notice that one of the sources I linked to in my previous post was the Oxford Dictionary?
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