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"Aren't I?"

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NewTime
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04 Aug 2018, 8:03 am

Why do people say "aren't I?". They would never say "I aren't". So why do they use "aren't" for "am not" in the tag question?



Spiderpig
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04 Aug 2018, 8:05 am

To avoid “ain’t I?”.


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Skilpadde
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05 Aug 2018, 1:58 am

I don't know, but it's annoying.


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Space50
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05 Aug 2018, 12:09 pm

"I'm in your way, aren't I?"

"I'm in your way, ain't I?"

"I'm in your way, amn't I?"

"I'm in your way, am I not?"

"Ain't I? and "amn't I?" sound incorrect to people and "am I not?" sounds stilted so they use "aren't I?"



naturalplastic
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05 Aug 2018, 2:09 pm

"ain't " is a contraction of "am not".

Nothing wrong with it. But it's gotten unfairly branded as "bad English".

So folks say "aren't I" to avoid saying "ain't I" just to sound "proper" even though "ain't I" is grammatically correct, and "aren't I" is not grammatically correct.



lostonearth35
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06 Aug 2018, 11:15 am

Funny how saying "ain't" in this day and age will still make some people recoil in horror, but people practically get away with an apparent inability to say a complete sentence without the F word.