Does first person singulars choose “am not” instead of “are’nt” in the English version?
I often notice that instead of ” am not ” a ” aren’t ” version is used and I wonder if that is truly acceptable. What confuses me is that in school we were taught that the short version of am not is amn’t and so this is correct and plain clear but when I see ” are not ” I just can’t stop thinking that it’s a contraction for ” are not ” and is plain wrong for first person singular. For a first person pronoun, I, I, there is no contraction with the verb
be + not. And because of other words like “Amne” in English, English speakers often use the word “arenn” instead./however, in casual speech and writing such as beingt, this is considered entirely grammatical.
And
Because of this authoritative connotation, another way of saying ” am I not ” developed. On the whole, native speakers now use the form ” aren’t I ” which is now completely acceptable in any spoken or informal written context.
I also sometimes stumble upon ” ain’t ” but I know that it’s very informal and should be avoided at all costs.
I am lucky,
- am I?
- Is anybody lucky, or am I?
- I am lucky, that I am, isn’t it?
- I am lucky, ain’t I?
Can we use and remove an ” amn’t ” in regular speech? Is ” aren’t ” informal or formal? What makes it an exception in grammar?
Why are there so many people who believe in “reality and equity”?
Can someone please propose me a number of possible contractions which are acceptable to you, as well as others that will provide you more insight? What are the things that are okay to everybody, am I not? ..
It is used only in Scottish and Irish English. Amateur English speakers know that the Scottish pronunciation is common.
I resisted the contraction ain’t I. used to be acceptable, but because of the condemnation of he ain’t for “he hasn’t/isn’t” and other uses of ain’t, “ain’t I”? Has association become tainted? And how do you say “ain’t I” to everybody so that they can understand you and remember that you aren’t stupid? It probably sounded more acceptable three or four generations ago than it does today; language commentator William Safire still recommended it in 1982.
How can I stop saying ‘an’tI’ in southern England? in the late 17th century, pronounced ahnt. Why did early Southern English begin to mark everything as ” aren’t I ” when they dropped their first letter – because they were told that they had no r s. There has been no change in pronunciation since. What was the perfect pronunciation for unrelated words as they were both familiar with such words?
When American r -keepers began noticing this in British writing at the beginning of the 20th century, it sounded insane to them to have an r. It made no sense at all, because there was no connection with the word are. Why am I often attracted to criticism? Nevertheless, it has gained acceptance over time and now most Americans use it, since it’s the only contract form available to them that doesn’t involve ain’t.
Currently you’ll find contradictory opinions on the acceptability of aren’t I in writing, and especially in formal writing. Can everyone avoid controversy if you can? How can I learn to write a good essay? Please make sure your English is standard Scottish, because your advice might differ if you’re writing in Standard Scottish.
Do you find this advice damaging or not? Will sound overly stuffy and formal. In this case, aren’t I? will be preferable, at least in England and North America.
