Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[howtowhyis]

'I'm meeting you tomorrow for lunch, aren't I?'
Why do we use 'are' when I am talking about a single subject?

Can I use 'ain't' for 'aren't'?

She ain't going, isn't she?
Is the 'ain't' okay to use here?

What is 'ain't? am not, is not, are not?

It ain't right, is it?

[Mister Micawber]

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Ain't is substandard but widespread and occasionally jocular for am/is/are not.

Aren't I is the accepted contracted question tag for I am: I'm late again, aren't I? We use it because ain't continues to be unacceptable, and we have no other contraction for am I not. The choices are a'n't, amn't, an't or aren't-- which would you rather?
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"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
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Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's

[CP]

I've always thought that "aren't I" is silly when we have a perfectly good "ain't I" at our disposal. We don't say, "I aren't," do we?

All we have to do is reserve "ain't" for the first person singular. "Ain't he" should be as discouraged as "don't he," but "aren't I" should also be discouraged.

Also, with "ain't," we'd be able to say "I ain't" or "I'm not" as contractions for "I am not." Think of the advantages for poets.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb