we know how to spell it, how to say it, how come it isnt a word?
2007-10-06 09:21:59 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Its a popular yet incorrect contraction of 'are not' and is used in many situations. As the language is always evolving, just wait a few years and I'm sure that some dictionary somewhere will accredit it. In the meantime it just 'ain't 'part of the Queen's English. Its just popular slang.
2007-10-06 09:24:39 · answer #1 · answered by megalomaniac 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It IS a word, and IS in the dictionary.
It's considered to be "nonstandard' Englsh.
Definitions:
1. am not : are not : is not
2. have not : has not
3. do not : does not : did not
For all the people who say it isn't a contraction of anything,
it first appeared in the 1700's, coming from "an't," which was a contraction of am not and are not. It was originally used by the upper classes as well as the uneducated.
2007-10-06 09:26:50 · answer #2 · answered by Bad Kitty! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a contraction of nothing. It's a slang term and not a real english word.
I hate that "word". It sounds uneducated.
We no how to say and spell Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious too, but that doesn't mean it's a real word either.
2007-10-06 09:25:11 · answer #3 · answered by Megegie 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i think that ain't should be a word cause i use it all the time when im talking and when typing so i dont kno y it wouldnt be a word
2007-10-06 09:25:31 · answer #4 · answered by conehead 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ain't is a word. Look it up in the dictionary.
2007-10-06 09:24:26 · answer #5 · answered by Jason 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
because......uh..
well, it's a contraction, (thought it's not a word so it can't possibly be a contraction...) anyway, there aren't any words put together that can spell this out. If there were it'd probably be like...
1) 'ai' not
2) 'taint' not...
neither makes sence...
therefore 'ain't ISN'T a word. :)
2007-10-06 09:34:35 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hmm, good question!
Ain't is a cross between aren't and isn't. If you think about it, ain't seems cooler than saying isn't, i.e. "She isn't happy" isn't as neat as "She ain't happy." It's not an official word, just an accepted one; I think one of these days it will be since it's so widely used.
2007-10-06 09:44:02 · answer #7 · answered by the fire within 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
What I recall from my elementary school days:
Ain't ain't a word, cuz it ain't in the dictionary, and I ain't gonna say it no more.
2007-10-06 09:29:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's in the dictionary... It's a word.
2007-10-06 16:01:15 · answer #9 · answered by Tom Mienic 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is a word, but sort of slang. so don't use it in any school papers, unless you're quoting someone
2007-10-06 16:13:26 · answer #10 · answered by m deal 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋