ain’t

Many people will tell you that "ain’t" represents poor (bad) English, but it’s so common in spoken English, you must learn about it because you will hear it used. "Ain’t" is a contraction of the verb "be" and the adverb, "not."

• She ain’t here. (She’s not here.)
• He ain’t going to work today. (He isn’t going to work today.)
• You ain’t in the right place.
• They ain’t doing their homework.

People who use the word "ain’t" are likely to use double negatives, which are not allowed in proper English:

• I ain’t got no money. (I don’t have any money.)
• She ain’t got no shoes on her feet. (She doesn’t have any shoes on her feet.)
• The kids ain’t had nothing to eat. (The kids haven’t had anything to eat.)
• This ain’t no good. (This isn’t any good.)
• You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. (This is a common expression meaning that the best is yet to come.)

As you may have noticed, this word always takes the same form. It’s always used for the present tense.

So, I don’t recommend that you use "ain’t," but be prepared to hear it. It’s common all over the United States, especially in rural America and the inner city.

She ain’t got no shoes.

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Published on June 3, 2014.