Ezequiel

Could you tell me what does "ain't" exactly mean and where did it come from? Is it some kind of a short way to say either "isn't" or "aren't"?

sarab

Hi Ezequiel! Ain't is a very colloquial word usually from the southern parts of the U.S. It is considered "improper English" but means "is/are not." Personally it is just as short as saying "isn't or aren't," but I think it is used more for effect than anything. Another similar word that is very characteristic of the south is "y'all" meaning "you all."

Hebe

That´s right Ezequiel. This is a very informal way to form "negative auxiliary verbs”

Not only for the verb to be but also for auxiliaries like "do" or "have"

For instance I ain´t got money (I haven’t got any money)

Where does it come from? I ain´t got a clue (jeje), but never use it fromal texts

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Ezequiel

Thx a lot! I've had that doubt for years.
Even my english teacher couldn't answer me when I asked her the meaning of "ain't" :P

SandraT

Look what I found about the origin and early usage of aint...

Ain’t arose toward the end of an 18 century period that marked the development of most of the English contracted verb forms such as can’t, don’t, and won’t. The form first appears in print in 1778. It was preceded by an’t, which had been common for about a century previously, and indeed is still commonly used in some parts of England.
An’t appears first in print in the work of Restoration playwrights: it is seen first in 1695, when William Congreve wrote I can hear you farther off, I an’t deaf, suggesting that the form was in the beginning a contraction of “am not”. But as early as 1696 Sir John Vanbrugh uses the form for “are not”: These shoes an't ugly, but they don't fit me...
At least in some dialects, an’t is likely to have been pronounced like ain’t, and thus the appearance of ain’t is more a clarified spelling than a new verb form. In some dialects of British English, are rhymed with air, and a 1791 American spelling reformer proposed spelling “are” as er
Ain’t in these earliest uses seems to have served as a contraction for both am not and are not.

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sarab

That's interesting Sandra! Actually ain't is still used in that sense...for example "I ain't going to wash those dishes!" I had no idea that it had such a long history!

carlam

That is so interesting and so true! I had an English Professor use it once in one of my classes when we were talking about race. She said, "there ain't nothing wrong with using 'ain't'!"

emilyb

Haha, thanks for the info, I never knew. however, I must say that hearing ain't still makes me cringe.....

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Emily B

justinb

In Atlanta people will tell you "ain't ain't a word."

Ya'll is one of my favorites. Ya'll with a drawl is the only way you'll here it (properly?) used...

michelleba

There are several good online references that explain the root and meaning of the word ain't. Here are some:

Ain't is a slang contraction originally used for "am not", but also used for "is not", "are not", "has not", or "have not" in the common vernacular. In some dialects it is also used as a contraction of "do not", "does not", and "did not" (i.e. I ain't know that). The word is a perennial issue in English usage. It is a word that is widely used by many people, but its use is commonly considered to be improper.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain't

1 : am not : are not : is not
2 : have not : has not
3 : do not : does not : did not —used in some varieties of Black English
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ain't

1. Contraction of am not.
2. Used also as a contraction for are not, is not, has not, and have not.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ain't