Where does AIN'T come from and is it bad English?

[@mzmscoyote]

When my grandmother said “I’m not going to do that” we knew we might change her mind, but if she said “I ain’ta gonna do it.” we knew that Hell would freeze over before she would do it.

[@lyndavonkanel8603]

😄

[@BradSchmor]

Yes. In that case "ain't" was used for effect - to add some weight and snark to the words she could have used.

[@GagHov]

"Hell would freeze over before she would do it." WOW! Nice expression. Thank you. I'm gonna remember that!

[@sisuriffs]

I’ve heard ain’t used in movies portraying nineteenth century upper class British officers speaking. Are they being ironic, or has ain’t ever actually been a feature of upper crust parlance?

[@margaretschultz6209]

Mom: When hell freezes over. 10 year old me: Who is Helfries and why is he coming over?

[@jomerrell]

I absolutely LOVE this video. Thank you so much. As a born Canadian who grew up in France and Great Britain and then went to school in Canada I was raised in 'knuckle whipping' 'proper' language lessons but 52 years ago moved to the southern US and fell in love with the word 'ain't'. I don't think of it as a word but as an expression, almost a sentiment. It's my favorite word in the english language.

[@olderthandirt7061]

I have a friend who moved here (the deep South) and she says, "I might not have been born here but I got here just as soon as I could."

[@ReiKakariki]

❤❤❤❤❤ People loves poetical, musical and informal english intensely ❤

[@tomfields3682]

Git you over to Mayberry, NC and say hello to Ain't Bea Taylor!

[@ReiKakariki]

Today the mosts littles words used in english is gosh, imo, ain't, y'all that evoltued yet to Yall. They're all pretty and pratical.

[@ReiKakariki]

Ain't is sophisticated ya can use in singular and plural mode, soft flex word 💎🍻🥂🌱⚘🍸🥂. Aint today evoluted yet to the word Ain both are the same thing in semantics

[@mattiasblomqvist7753]

Some 37 years ago in a suburb close to Stockholm I was forced by my english teacher to leave the classroom. I had made a bold attempt claiming that "ain't" indeed did exist in the English vocabulary by citing a text that I had read so many times from record labels in my brothers 7 inch singles collection: "If it ain't Stiff it ain't worth a f**ck". I probably should've chosen something less controversial like "He ain't heavy (he's my brother)" or something but well... I was 13 and that's just not the way it went. This video had me remember that episode of my life and somehow I felt a bit redeemed in knowing that I wasn't completely wrong so thank you, sir. (And sorry old teacher. I was unreasonable back then. But then again so we're you.)

[@heinblod8720]

Nearly the some same happen to me. " you aint´see nothing yet " from BTO . Let´s make fun about it´s long ago.

[@TruthLivesNow]

I was thinking in my mind about conjunctions, and I don't think they were used back in Old English. If a rapist went back to Old England in a time machine, and raped someone, the judge would give them the death penalty, "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge." The rapist would then say to the judge, I am Fxxxed," and they would not know what he is talking about.

[@rwdyeriii]

LOL 😂😂😂 your story is totally probable. I am an English teacher in the States and I can see one of my students saying something like this.

[@Audunforgard]

Apropos Stiff, you didnt offer her to translate the meaning of Pogues the same way :D

[@brentoutashape9141]

@@rwdyeriii Unrelated, but as a child in primary school in the 1980's, I was really into 1950's music, and I loved Chuck Berry. I had a cassette tape that I listened to a lot. On that tape was a live rendition of "My Ding-a-ling." I was maybe eleven or twelve years old, and I didn't realize that singing that song out loud would get me an audience with the assistant dean, because it never occurred to me that the song was about a guy's d1ck. I was 12, and I liked 50's rock n' roll, I didn't know. He was asking me if I would sing it in front of my parents, and I said, "sure, they bought me the tape, I don't understand the problem!" My dad thought it was awesome that I liked the music he grew up with, and we didn't have "parental advisory" labels on stuff back then, so he bought me the tape. Also, my father was an Episcopalian priest, so I couldn't imagine him giving me a gift I couldn't use openly. The assistant dean asked if I knew what "insubordination" meant. I didn't, and I told him so. The issue was resolved somehow without me in the room, which I was grateful for. We're all like this, by the way, my sister and brother can all share a story, like when my sister told my mother that if the starving people of India wanted her soup so bad, they could have it, and she poured it into a box that she labeled, "India."

[@lpanzieri]

Big "like" for mentioning the register. We non-native speakers often sound too formal because we're taught a formal English.

[@Iridium43]

@@lpanzieri that’s formal written English. Going to a place. Going (followed by a verb) is gonna. Going to the bus station where I’m gonna go on the bus.

[@helenamcginty4920]

Same when I first learned Spanish. We always used the personal pronoun with verbs. As in English. But as the declension includes who. Estoy, eastàs està etc.the yo tù el/ella isnt needed or used. Also as I live in Andalucia my accent is no longer Castellano pure and simple. 😅

[@helenamcginty4920]

​​@@Iridium43im from Lancashire and would not say gonna but Goin'to but the 'o' is a Shwa.

[@mkshffr4936]

I ain't got no edjumacation. 😇

[@EamonJeffers]

I'm 72, Londoner, and I still say amn't. Always have done, can't help it, sounds natural. Mind you, my parents were Irish.

[@eddiehawkins7049]

That's interesting. Having been born in Barking, in the fifties, I consider myself an Essex boy, but I spent much of my life living and working in London and can't recall hearing anyone use amn't. To be honest, before watching this video, I didn't know the word existed.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I do believe you but I myself have never heard amn't in London. Is it the Irish influence?

[@CheeseAlarm]

​@@eddiehawkins7049It's used in Scotland but I don't know how common it is

[@eddiehawkins7049]

@@LetThemTalkTV I wonder if this is linked to its use in Scotland, as stated by @CheeseAlarm.

[@eoinmacantsaoir811]

"I amn't" is quite common in Ireland in my experience. I'd say "I'm not" is probably more common but I amn't sure.

[@Revolver1701]

US rural southerner here and I grew up with “ain’t” and there ain’t no two ways about it. “Amn’t” is new to me.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

Ain't is an interesting one because its used for more options than it should be. It is short for "am not," but it does get used for other things, like the Elvis bit, it could just as easily have been the grammatically more appropriate "aren't" rather than "ain't." And in the Bill Whithers it could have been "There's not" which is somewhat closer to the "correct" grammar. But, in both cases something would have been lost. It's why being really particular about grammar in music and poetry just doesn't work. Another one that I don't hear mentioned very often is "dasn't" for "dares not." My mother had older relatives back in the Midwest that would say dasn't, and it wasn't at all clear to her what it was a contraction of.

[@dehydratedwater9806]

​@@SmallSpoonBrigadereally? There's not no sunshine when she's gone?

[@Revolver1701]

@@SmallSpoonBrigadeThanks. I agree. I live in Appalachia and have heard “dast” as in “How dast he do that.” I only have heart it once and figured it was from someone steeped in the King James Bible or Shakespeare as both have had an ongoing effect on language here.

[@joshfloyd7755]

Aint no bull about it. Aint non ya business. Aint you precious.

[@Chafflives]

@@dehydratedwater9806 Works👍

[@LenTexDIY]

There's just something so "comforting" about "Ain't" to me sometimes. Great video! Thank you!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

ain't that the truth. Cheers

[@nataliealliepage7155]

It's to the point.

[@frankgradus9474]

The sun ain't gonna shine anymore The moon ain't gonna rise in the sky but for ''ain't''

[@lor3999]

“Ain’t” says it in a kind’a way that “Is not” can not.

[@romanmichaelhamilton8729]

Yes, and "ain't" just sounds so profound and concrete. :-)

[@loots9821]

In Ireland, definitely in north Dublin, amn't is used a lot! We also use 'messing' in place of joking, winding you up, pulling your leg. "Are you messin?" "No, I amn't". 😊

[@franzweber7494]

I ain‘t afraid of no ghost! 👻

[@markadams7046]

👻👻👻👻👻👻👻

Who ya gonna call 😁

[@ericMT]

I certainly am not frightened by any form of spectre.

[@dustylong]

​@@ericMT🤣😂🤣

[@EquineDreams]

@@ericMT and i imagine the person saying it that way is wearing a pair of glasses, touching or straightening the corner of their glasses while saying it and sounding a bit stuck up(maybe a professor's voice) ;). The 1st one "I ain‘t afraid of no ghost" is a completely different person and sounds way more emphatic and convincing.

[@HermitCrone]

I grew up in East Tennessee, where saying ain’t is common parlance. That area was settled by Scottish, and English in the 1600s and 1700s. It has been said that we speak most similarly to the Old English. Thank you for this informative video, and would love to see one on the similarities of the Southern Appalachian speech and Old English language.

[@kenhayes3448]

I grew up in the South ain’t was sometimes said with an h: hain’t, hain’t also another a ghost, hain’ted for haunted

[@petermintunmusic]

Dude, you have won me over! I love your style, your wit, and the substance of your discussion. This is the best use of the Internet.

[@EllisBoydRedding]

it's great, ain't it?

[@jagolago-bob]

@@EllisBoydRedding isn't it, is better.

[@frankgradus9474]

you are not the only one, there are legions of us who think the same - you can't help but love this guy and his English teaching vibe

[@paulpetersen6539]

@@jagolago-bob NOT-using a 'question mark' [?] is how u `drop the mic' on a phrase that is otherwise inquisitive. Never mind the fact that the vast majority [on every side of every pond] find 'aint' quaintly commercial. ...however useful in 'quaintness', & tongue-in-cheek americanised ...ness.

And he won me over by including 3 second clips from Iron Man 3 and Groundhog Day 😁

[@carolina6683]

I ain't seen a better video all day. Well done and thank you, Gideon!

[@thetowndrunk988]

Growing up in the southern U.S., everybody used ain’t all the time, including all of the English teachers that scolded us, and said it wasn’t a word….

[@douggodfrey6521]

Give them X-tra Grace Every Summer Vacation their Red Pencils rusted in their Desk Drawer

[@michaelmitchell570]

Is you is or is you ain't

[@weebunny]

​@@michaelmitchell570... my bab-eh! 🎶

[@nicholasreulet4486]

From the Southern US, the schoolteachers beat it into us: "Ain't ain't a word and I ain't gonna use it." I find it interesting that they took no issue with "gonna" in that phrase, and also how often the "great American wordsmith" Mark Twain used it.

[@MattMcIrvin]

"Ain't ain't a word 'cause it ain't in the dictionary" was a popular schoolyard chant when I was a kid--though by that time it was in nearly all dictionaries, since they'd long since come to regard their role as descriptive (including markers of register if necessary) instead of just prescribing the rules of formal prestige English. The Webster's Third New International's inclusion of "ain't" was one of the things that made it a 1960s culture-war battle site and, according to some, a sign of the downfall of civilization.

[@nicolomas5]

Thanks a lot! After 20 years of using English every day at work, I finally realised what this expression means and when it makes sense to use it. 😀

[@BubuMarimba]

Ain't no river wide enough Ain't no water deep enough Ain't no mountain high enough (To keep me from you, Gideon!)

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. A classic. Thanks

[@robertcaven794]

Ain't too proud to beg...

[@rubenproost2552]

There's no ... etc

[@Aeneiden]

There is not any river...

[@davidparker9676]

@@rubenproost2552 There be no...

[@Tee-ina-Skee-Mask]

"dont say aint, your mother will faint, your father will fall in a bucket of paint" i forget the rest but that title instantly brought that back to me

[@Best..YT..Music..Playlists]

my homeboy got jacked, my motha's on crack, my sister can't work coz her arm shows tracks

[@guysmiley4830]

Your sister will cry and your brother will die. Your dog will call the FBI OMG, It's been at least 35 years since I've thought about this rhyme I had to enlist my sister to tease out the ending together.

[@Muggins1046]

Another good example of this sort of thing is ‘y’all.’ Since I started learning Latin and started realising how useful a plural second person is, I find myself using y’all a lot more.

[@stolenlaptop]

Yous guys in the north east. Y'all in the south. As a northerner y'all bugged the crap out of me. I would be addressed as y'all instead of you.

[@Sammysapphira]

Or you can simply say you all

[@stuartofblyth]

@@Sammysapphira Or "you lot". Once we had "thou" and "you" to avoid this confusion.

[@johnswoodgadgets9819]

It drives me nuts when people use y'all in reference to a single person. I understand how it is interpreted that way, but it still drives me nuts. It is interpreted that way because if you say to a single person when they are leaving, "Y'all come back, now, y'hear?" you have just invited not only that person, but his entire family and entourage to visit you at any time and without prior notice. Y'all is plural, and when addressed to a single person is inclusive of persons not present. That is extremely handy. "Y'all throw down yer guns, now!"

[@hiddenhist]

​@@stolenlaptopy'all is regularly used in the north among Black circles, and is more fun than "you guys" imo.

[@HektorBandimar]

Yes, I'm from southern England and ain't is nearly always used by working class folk, perhaps these days a middle class person might use it in a casual way, but it is still a class thing in the southern counties.

[@emilywyatt9340]

I am more bothered by the misuse and overuse of words such as like and literally . It's auditory torture to me.

[@wannabeanamerican]

" "'ain't" is bad English" they say. Meanwhile, "aren't I?" as a tag question is completely correct. Fair enough, huh? Thanks for the video, it explains really important topic. For me "ain't" is one of the most interesting word in English, as it officially doesn't exist, despite the fact that it's used a lot, I mean A LOT, by various people with various backgrounds.

[@RichardJBarbalace]

"Aren't I?" is correct because the expression is in the subjunctive mood, which is a fascinating subject in itself and vital to understand in many languages beyond English.

[@HippieVeganJewslim]

@@RichardJBarbalace so it’d be correct to say ‘I are bla bla bla’ in the subjunctive mood?

[@HippieVeganJewslim]

Ain’t is a real word. It does officially exist. Check the American/English dicktionary.

[@nedludd7622]

​@@HippieVeganJewslimYou don't understand what the subjunctive is. You gave a declarative. Subjunctive is, for one example, in "If I were you ..." Of course you cannot be someone else.

[@HippieVeganJewslim]

@@nedludd7622 so can’t you gimme an example of are in the first-person singular subjective? I know what subjunctive is. I knew English for most of my life.

[@coyote.redfire]

Love this! Wish my grandma were still alive so I could share this with her...she charged us grandkids 25 cents each time we used "ain't" in a sentence 😂

[@stephanecollart3094]

"It's not *me* you're looking for", since "me" is the object of the sentence, hence in the accusative case. To say "It's not 'I'" grates on the ears.

[@andrewrobinson2565]

The verb "to be" doesn't have an object in formal English.

[@nigelogilvie9450]

There is a declarative use of the object case in English. "Who's there? / Me!" "Who did that? Him!" There is a film in which James Stewart's character answers the phone and says "It's I." This is an utterly ridiculous usage. It's not restricted to the verb "to be". "Who ate the last chocolate? Her!" "Who bombed Pearl Harbor?" (Looking at photographs of WW2 national leaders:) "Them!"

[@andrewrobinson2565]

@@nigelogilvie9450 "Ridiculous" is not an objective (boom-boom 🦊!) description of an expression in ANY language. It's a subjective one. 👍

[@andrewrobinson2565]

@@nigelogilvie9450 Informal English is at the heart of ALL your examples. "It is I" is a phrase in FORMAL English. 😀 The USA doesn't often use formal English (your spelling gives away your geographical and linguistic origin.)

[@nigelogilvie9450]

@@andrewrobinson2565 We'll have to agree to differ on your first point, then. I don't know what you mean by your second point. I am British. Do you mean Pearl Harbor? That's how the place is spelt. It's not for me as a British person to re-spell some other country's placenames. Well apart from Lisbon, Munich, Turin, and several others.

[@mattburleson1011]

I'm an English professor, and I've been teaching the virtues of "ain't" for over 20 years. It’s fascinating to me that "ain't" gets so much bad press, but most everyone seems okay with "won't."

[@jamesmorton5017]

What critics of such words forget or do not know is that all languages or dynamic. Languages change with different cultural influences. It can be a difficult task attempting to understand Jamaican patois. Cuban Spanish and Mexican Spanish diverge from each other and mainland Spanish.

[@richardgaribay7741]

I am high but you just blew my mind “won’t” where does that even come from ?

[@teribarker1021]

@@richardgaribay7741 it’s a totally acceptable contraction of “will not,” so I don’t understand why this English teacher used it as a comparison to ain’t.

[@Mr_Mb1]

“English professor” haha

[@nevermindthees]

Gideon, not only are you a scholarly linguist but a discerning music expert and literary critic. I fully agree with you on Bob Dylan (nobel prize winner). Arts and art, it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

We find ourselves in agreement once again. Ain't it so.

[@nevermindthees]

@@LetThemTalkTV 'tis. (That's a try. I'm not a native speaker. "Indeed" would probably the first choice)

[@dustylong]

​@nevermindthees I'm not a native speaker either, I would have said "Indeed", but "'tis" is so much more creative 😅👍🏻

[@nevermindthees]

@@dustylong 🙂👍

[@rhondabailey9238]

When the word communicates what you want to express...Love the word!...and they AIN"T takin' it from us!🤓😎

[@just_kos99]

Having been raised by two teachers, we were encouraged to use proper English pretty much since we've been able to speak. We weren't flat-out told NOT to say "ain't" but Mom & Dad made it clear that it wasn't proper English. Not sure where we learned this, but we had "Don't say 'ain't' or your mother will faint and your father will fall in a bucket of paint...." Fascinating video, by the way. Gonna watch it again and put down notes in my new commonplace book (a concept which I only learned about this week).

[@Peatingtune]

I had teachers like that growing up. Now, as an English teacher myself, I'm very much in the Descriptive camp and can only shake my head at Prescriptive "grammar-Nazis." It was a stint teaching ESL that really led me there, as it took a lot of wind out of my sails to be required to teach children to use robotic textbook statements that no native English speakers ever use even in formal settings. Language is a means to communicate, and effective language equals effective communication. Very tight rules erode effectiveness. So long as people have the same general foundation they should not be brow-beaten into doubling down on rules. Such things can be the concern of editors, writers etc., which the vast majority of people will never be.

[@sebastianardila7263]

Great idiom, thanks for writing it.

[@acasualviewer5861]

There is no "proper English." English changes all the time. There was a time that grammar hadn't been invented, most people didn't write, and the English language had gendered words (like Spanish does today) and was more complex than it is today. We all speak "improper" English. None of us speaks Old English. It evolves.

[@indigobunting5041]

As a kid I learned the saying "Ain't ain't a word, so don't use it."

[@ExestentialCrisis]

"It ain't a word and it ain't in the dictionary so I ain't gonna say it" was the way we were taught. Use of the word still grates my ears.

[@franciscomartinezzea8531]

I'm a Spaniard going for my C1 (proficiency) in English next month; NEVER have I been taught about register. It ain't fair.

[@akaDorM]

There's more than two registers. For instance, if you are writing an academic or legal article you need formal and precise; if you are writing a novel you will probably use informal contractions; if you are writing a script, you'll go full colloquial. Similar nuances in everyday speech. Native speakers will switch naturally between registers, if they are familiar with them - but if they're not they sound like a fish out of water. Advantage of formal is that it's never wrong, just seems stilted.

[@franciscomartinezzea8531]

@@akaDorM I was once told that people with a genuine high cultural level had different levels of of conversation (I'm guessing referring to registers) and that they use one ore the other depending on on who they're talking to. When they use their highest in every situation, they're just being pedantic, and that is a sign that although learned, their culture still needs growth...

[@franciscomartinezzea8531]

@@akaDorM (I have to look up stilted, that is a new word for me)

[@RootlessNZ]

I'm a Cockney from the East End. Ain't and double negatives are second nature to me. And I'm a qualified linguist too. I thought I spoke bad English until I studied linguistics. Then I discovered I spoke a language variation (dialect). Ain't that something! It ain't nothing!

[@voornaam3191]

Ha, finally those linguists have started studying the real thing. Oldfashioned people often say "I never learned that, so that is wrong." They were students 40 years ago! They believe in some static truth, like Sir Newton would have never even listened to Mr Einstein. Humbug!

[@pholdway5801]

T'aint Nuffin man

[@SeaSqueeze]

I’m from the southeast US up in the Appalachian mountains. Saying ain’t and using double negatives is part of the dialect there as well. I spent over 2 decades up there and can’t/won’t stop myself from using both. Like you mentioned it’s just natural at this point. Same with other “improper” parts of the dialect I naturally speak with.

[@geraldscott4302]

In my language, we would say "somethin" and "nothin". We don't write it that way, but that is the way it is spoken. In American English, words are often not pronounced the way they are written. I also speak Spanish, as well as a botched up language called Spanglish, which is a combination of Spanish and English. I have never heard anyone speak technically correct Spanish or English. It would sound ridiculous.

[@douggodfrey6521]

Interesting Speech

[@jotacalvo]

Ok this is some seriously interesting info! I am from Soutwestern Pennsylvania USA and we have what is almost universally considered one of the ugliest accents in English lol. Pittsburghese, yinzers, whatever title you like. I actually like it because it is a source of much humor with my family. But I digress… Many of the local terms and accents have a very interesting history behind (or behint as my dad would say lol😂) them and it’s not just about uneducated miners. PA German, Slavic, Polish, among many other influences have shaped our speech here. Very interesting. As an addition to this video, the locals with strong Pittsburhese accents have converted “ain’t” to “hain’t”. Don’t know why. But I’d assume it’s the same influence that affected “behint”. Excellent video 👍

[@mbrown7361]

"Ain't yinz gonna go to Giant Igle before the Stillers play?"

[@Iridium43]

“H” is a transition to a vowel it doesn’t occur after a vowel.

[@Chris-mf1rm]

⁠@@Iridium43Behold. Behind/behint. Behest. Behemoth. E’s a vowel ain’t it.

[@MattMcIrvin]

@@Iridium43 So it's the opposite of the "intrusive R" which occurs at the end of a word between adjacent vowel sounds in otherwise non-rhotic New England accents? "I put the pizza(r) in." I think this also occurs in some English accents.

[@jotacalvo]

@@MattMcIrvin yes. In a more accessible example, Roger Waters added an “r” at the end of “Britannia” on The Wall album. It’s always when the next word begins with a vowel. Jeremy Clarkson also does it often.

[@VesaGuardian]

I´m from Finland and we have two languages, Finnish and Swedish. In Swedish we have a word "inte", that works just like "ain't". Surprisingly they more or less sound the same and mean the same. In my honest view this is the same thing going on and probably brought to English from Scandinavian languages.

[@tomhalla426]

English has a fair amount of Old Norse content. Arguably, late Anglo Saxon was a creole of AS and Old Norse.

[@stoferb876]

Informal swedish have a very similar contraction "är inte" is shortened to "änte" which sound very similar to english ain't but I still think it's just a coincidence. Especially as it was mostly danes and norweigans going to Britain. And they use "ikke" instead of "inte", which leads to a very different contraction in informal speech ( it obviously is pronounced more like 'igge' in danish K, T, and P tend to be more G,D and B in denmark). Also "icke" in swedish is the older more archaic word for "not" as well.

[@leod-sigefast]

It doesn't mean it is from Norse influence. Old English and Old Norse were very similar and the subsequent developments of both languages showed a lot of mirroring. Same as with German and Dutch. Some changes just seemed to happen across all Germanic languages. The pronouns, adverb and verb declensions involved were mostly English (am, is, have, not) and English didn't need the Norse to tell us how to do word contractions!

[@jalmarirantala6059]

Voi muuten hyvin pitää paikkansa

[@normanpeters7544]

Could it be ''ain't'' was ''inte'' when spoken by scandinavian immigrants in the USA?

[@kennethbest8719]

I grew up in blue collar South London and used ain’t all the time. When I went to grammar school I had to change the way I spoke eliminating “ain’t” from my vocabulary.

[@oml81mm]

I (of Northern Irish origin) would never consider using "ain't" but do often say other words with "-n't" (short for "not") tagged on to the end. I have always thought that "ain't" was an American thing, but after listening to this excellent little video have changed my mind. I now feel that the word probably originated in English dialect (quite possibly cockney), made it's way across the atlantic in the Mayflower, where it was adopted while we gradually forgot about it. Later on we then re-discovered it and began to use it again. This kind of thing has happened many times in the past.

[@nevermindthees]

@@oml81mm Nice story. 👍

[@Philippians4vs4-8]

Actually, ain't is used more in America by Southerners like me. If you listen to the Troggs (1960's) sing their hit song "Wild Thing," you will note that they are not saying "Wild Thing" but rather "Wild Thang" which is another Southern dialect word. Most song writers use the Southern dialect for more emphasis, or perhaps a different twist in their music voice. This is only my personal thinking and not meant to upset anyone, so please be cordial.

You're quite possibly right about cockney, in university one of our professors (an Englishman) went over cockney for about an hour, and although one example I absolutely remember that he gave was "I dunno nuffin'", I'm pretty sure "ain't" also passed around in that lesson... (for more context, I'm Turkish and studied ELT in one of the major universities in my country. That particular course was either English or American Literature, I can't remember which, because that Englishman prof taught both, and I'm not sure which one I took from him!)

[@mikebassett1663]

I am 72 from Kent, UK. Now living in france I had just about forgotten ain't but it was never part of the common speech of my school or university. I suppose I always thought it was cockney or american.

[@edcarson3113]

You must be posh. Ain't that the truth 😊

[@GreatGreebo]

When you said “ain’t necessarily so” I immediately heard that Bronski Beat song in my head….then a few seconds later you used said song in your video. Brilliant editing! Thank you for such an educational (but entertaining) video.

[@floretion]

Very informative and couldn't agree more. My song example for the usefulness of "a'int" was always "Well, imagine if Mick Jagger had sung 'I can not get any satisfaction'. Recently I listened to a teacher of the Italian languange explaining that, in the end, it doesn't matter if some professor sitting on a mountaintop says something is grammatically incorrect when 90% of the population use it in their day to day speech. More generally, "informal speech" can be incredibly useful and beautiful when it's used to convey emotion and conviction as concisely as possible. By the way, we recently visited Croatia on vacation and there is a beautiful island (with Roman roots) there with no vowels at all: Krk.

[@pasixty6510]

That register thing is so important. Thank You… I ain’t seen nothing better yet.

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

"Is you are, or is you ain't, that is the Question". Shakespeare already said so..

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Indeed.

[@eh1702]

In the rods of the song: “Is you is or is you ain’t ma baby?”

[@nozrep]

better yet is yah or aintchuh? 😂 that’s the phrase i grew up hearing in both inner city and rural parts of Texas

[@firstlast5499]

That’s part of a song I remember from a Tom and Jerry cartoon… “Is you is… or is you ain’t my baby”

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

@@firstlast5499 yep...

[@gardenphoto]

As an astute philosopher once observed, "You ain't got nothin' until you is what you am." Nuff said. 😉

[@Santoshlv426]

I was always under the impression that "ain't" is only used by commoners and now I know it ain't so. Thanks for enlightening me Gideon !

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Well I'm a commoner so it possibly is.

[@Santoshlv426]

@@LetThemTalkTV I think that came out wrong (from me). sorry !! No intended offence.

[@KenFullman]

@@LetThemTalkTV Didn't the queen once say "One ain't amused"? Probably not.😂

[@buddyloyal8420]

​@@Santoshlv426 No apology needed kiddo. Your comment was perfectly in good taste ! From Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, USA

[@jakegarvin7634]

**Amn't 😝

[@lor3999]

In high school, I once raised my hand just before a quiz & exclaimed, “ I ain’t got no pencil ! “ The kids roared, my friend reminded me what class I was in … English. I responded, “ oh, yeah. But, I still ain’t got no pencil.”

[@causilvestrini7000]

Ahhh this is THE video I wanted! You rock. Thank you Gideon, you ain't no fool 😊

[@LetThemTalkTV]

ain't it so!

[@ceilconstante640]

Fascinating! Growing up in Michigan we were taught ain't isn't a word. Living in Florida I hear it all the time. Thank you for all the examples in movies and showing us how its ok to use.

[@tomfields3682]

FL is in Dixieland.

[@sergiyshklyar2573]

"I shall be hungry again to-morrow, shan't I? Ain't I hungry every day?" (says a boy in _The Haunted Man_ by Charles Dickens) "I an't the least astonished at it in the world, for I have often thought of late, there was nothing more likely to happen" (Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility). Mrs. Jennings is not surprised by the confirmation of her expectations. However, Miss Steeles (or Misses Steele) are more likely to use some variation of the word "ain't."

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks you for the quotes. Dickens used "ain't" hundreds of times.

[@aepochbrett]

Very insightful. I feel likemy English teacher back in high school would enjoy this. He was very open minded.

[@AXE668]

Interestingly, 'Ain't' was very often used by the upper classes and royalty in England in the 18th and 19th century.

[@GEMSofGOD_com]

Ain't no nothing

[@marshalmercer594]

Read any "Sherlock Holms" tale. Loads of "I ain't" there.

[@OrestesKyriakosPoulakis]

I remember some other video about some other informal form (I think it might be about "ain't" as well, I'm not sure) and it was saying that although it was initially used by upset class, they abandoned it when it started taking ground in lower classes and now we correlate it to lower classes. But I don't remember which video or word

[@georgestreng]

In the 1920s it was often used by upper classes as a kind of slang for humorous effect.

[@tequilyps]

My teacher always used to say: 'ain't ain't a word!'

[@damiantedrow3218]

... and I aint gonna use it

[@flagmichael]

It is a word, just not a perfectly cromulent one. The huge advantage in diction of "ain't" in contrast with "isn't" is enough to persist using "ain't" in speech. As a hopeless pedant it is hard for me to make the switch.

[@robinsaxophone232]

@@damiantedrow3218Ain’t ain’t a word and ya ain’t sposed ta say it.😉

[@litigioussociety4249]

I never noticed the amn't gap before, and it definitely explains that use of ain't.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I'd never heard of it until I started researching this video.

[@itsPenguinBoy]

I have friends who say "I an't" be "We en't" I wonder if an't changing to ain't helps disambiguate it from the word "ant" too

​@@itsPenguinBoygood grief, I couldn't even tell apart"ant" from "aunt", if it wasn't for the context! I wish native speakers pronounced every word so as to differentiate them from similar sounding words (and don't even get me started on homophones!)

[@russofamerica]

This is a super-fun deep dive into "ain't". As an American, I love the British expression, "Innit", which, I think, is kind of your "ain't". I could say "The weather's bad, innit?" Which would mean, "The weather's bad, isn't it?" But there are other forms: "The car broke down, innit?" As in "didn't it?" Or maybe, "I'm allergic to raspberries, innit?" Which could mean "aren't I?" I totally made up that last one, because I'm not an expert in British English or your slang, so please feel free to drag me through your swamps, but I feel like my pals across the river have their own fanciful speech.

[@danielpittman889]

The word "innit" is common on American Indian reservations. Watch a few episodes of Reservation Dogs and you'll hear it.

[@marcwithasea]

This may be an Americanism, but one of my favorite ain't expressions is "You ain't the boss of me!".

[@loisdungey3528]

Sounds so much more sassy than " you're not the boss of me"!

[@danielpittman889]

Pretty much what the Americans said to George III in 1776.

[@marcwithasea]

@@danielpittman889 Nice one!

[@ImCarolB]

This reminds me of something Paul McCartney said. His father deplored the influence of American speech in modern music and asked why they couldn't sing, "She loves you, yes, yes, yes." Can you imagine? Ain't nobody got time for that! (Sweet Brown)

[@legendmaker694]

Thank you, I learned quite a bit in this video. I always thought "ain't" was a US thing that gradually spread everywhere through popular songs. Oddly enough, "innit?" seems to be a British thing only, or maybe even more local than that (or perhaps a bit dated?). I've never heard it in Manchester or other cities I've lived in back when I worked in England, except in and around London (and John Constantine uses it a lot in the comic book and British TV series, but not in the Hollywood movie set in NYC, of course). For "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", the part that I've always wondered about is why it uses "broke" instead of "broken". I've always heard "broke" meaning "out of money", except for this particular saying. That said, "broken" wouldn't work now anyway (pun intended), since it has a similar problem as "literally" or "suspicious" these days, meaning either one thing or its opposite depending on who's talking. In video games especially, I simply avoid using it now: if I just say something is broken, it's impossible to know if I mean it's overpowered or bugged. ^^

[@FrostyDufour]

Replacing broke with broken wouldn't flow as well I think. Broke is snappy, brokEN is a bit softer

[@legendmaker694]

@@FrostyDufour Thanks, I agree but I still wonder if it means that broke used to be interchangeable with broken back when this saying started.

[@marshalmercer594]

I believe that schools have contributed to the confusion by over-guarding for language misuse. "Ain't" is the proper contraction of "am not", just as can't = cannot, and won't = will not. The problem arises when "ain't" is used with a pleural, rather than a singular-form subject. "We ain't" is an example of that. A similar situation can be seen with the use of double-negatives. "I can't, not see it" is perfectly correct, but schools have suggested otherwise. They have, also, failed to explain why they do so. Of course, if one means "I cannot see it", that is a misuse.

Think of it as a further contraction of "aren't"; or should I say, bastardization 😀

[@ayla3106]

Ain't it an amazing lesson? Great teacher! Many likes❤

[@TheHoveHeretic]

👵"Why aren't you writing it down Johnny?" 🙎"Ain't got no fu&&ing pen Miss" 👵"No, Johnny, I have no pen, you have no pen, we have no pens, they have no pens" 🤷"So who HAS got the fu&&ing pens then, miss?"

[@fukpoeslaw3613]

I... erh I dunno eh, I mean, I don't know! 😮

[@jeanthehumanbean8265]

😂😂😂

[@ironcladranchandforge7292]

Still wrong. The proper way to say it, "I haven't a pen".

[@fukpoeslaw3613]

@@ironcladranchandforge7292 *I haven't a fu&&ing pen

[@emilywyatt9340]

Try the back of the pencil case. Listen for the weird noises. They'll be sticky too😂😂😂. Sorry not sorry my filthy corrupt little mind couldn't help itself .

[@johngregor6743]

Another factor I think is just the mechanics of making the different vowel sounds and especially how they transition between words. The 'ai' sound of "ain't" is generally easier to make than the 'ihh' sound of "isn't" and especially if you're trying to speak loudly, quickly, or forcefully. Saying "Heeaint" is going to flow better than "Heeihhhhsnt" - you can feel your tongue transition from full forward to full retraction in that 2nd situation and you're probably out of position for whatever the 3rd word is going to be because I'll bet you it's going to start with a consonant.

[@gaufrid1956]

"Bbbbbaby you just ain't seen nuthin' yet" - Bachmann Turner Overdrive from the seventies...

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Yes, indeed. I had a few more songs to play such as that one but, alas, copyright.

[@reppepper]

Bachman

[@gaufrid1956]

@@reppepper You are right. I hit an extra "n". It should have a hyphen too, as in "Bachman-Turner Overdrive". Ain't no other song I can think of with a deliberate stutter in the lyrics. The annoying grammar police on here also don't like "ain't".

[@gaufrid1956]

@@LetThemTalkTV Copyright is always a problem.

[@johnbauman4005]

​​@@gaufrid1956"My Generation" by The Who. "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood and the Destroyers." Arguably, "My Sharona" by The Knack.

[@chriswixtrom6514]

This is a fabulous, informative, and delightful video that put a smile on my face!

[@asarand]

When I was a child, back in the 60s, I was taught ain't is a slang word and not proper English. Notice my surprise years later when it was added to the dictionary. As soon as it was added to the dictionary I started considering it to be proper English. It doesn't mean I never used it before that, as I used it a lot.

[@FATillery]

As do most of us.

[@KevinKaufhold]

BTO- “You ain’t seen nothing yet. B b b baby, you ain’t seen N n n nothing yet.” Very informative video. Being a native English speaker, I was never taught register. We had a saying “Ain’t ain’t a word and I ain’t gonna say it.” I tend to use it informally by habit, but not in formal situations. I guess I was taught informally how to use ain’t properly. The Bill Withers song at the beginning was a great opening. He had a beautiful voice.

[@Otacatapetl]

I'm a 73 year-old, fully paid-up member of the Grammarundshpellungpolizei, and I've never had a problem with "ain't".

[@DeutschlandGuy]

Don't you mean. "I ain't never had a problem with ain't." ... 😂😂😂

[@Otacatapetl]

@DeutschlandGuy No I don't; that's a double negative. Don't say I didn't warn you.

[@ellicooper2323]

@@Otacatapetl. But with ain’t you need a double negative.

[@oraetlabora1922]

​@@ellicooper2323 Who says?

[@Otacatapetl]

@@ellicooper2323 Nonsense. I'd explain why, but it'd probably be like explaining quantum chromo-dynamics to a duck.

[@garyfrancis6193]

6:07 Tidy exists in “ neat and tidy” and probably refers to “ the tide’ in the sea leaving the shore cleanand orderly when it recedes. It follows the same adjective formation as sunny, rainy, snowy, foggy.

[@SeattleSoulFan]

When Pat Boone recorded a cover version of Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame,” he couldn’t bring himself to sing, “Ain’t that a shame” because he considered it bad grammar, so he sang, “Isn’t it a shame.” That in a nutshell is why I’ll take Fats Domino over Pat Boone.

[@KevinMaxwell-o3t]

Really? How odd. Why would someone like Pat Boone even consider that song in the first place? Wasn't he usually singing about Jesus?

[@jescis]

I never liked Pat Boone anyway because of his low bar covers of Little Richard songs… basically like Elvis Presley, most of them were accepted as alternate to the black artist because of the white people who didn't want to buy from the original artist… I mean segregation in the US was still a thing during the 1950's when Rock 'N Roll was being more than just Rockabilly…

[@danielpittman889]

Pat Boone Debby Boone, bucket of fish.

[@simonrippon1946]

Gideon! It ain't you I was looking for but great to see you pop up in my YT feed sharing your wisdom in style. Hello!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Simon, it's great to hear from you. It's been quite a while. Do get in touch, you know how to reach me. Best wishes.

[@Hopeless_and_Forlorn]

I was born in Texas in 1942. During my early school years we lived in a small farm town, and then moved into a city when I was in fifth grade. My recollection of the time that there was generally understood to be, basically, two types of people--city folk and country folk. I know that our fourth grade, country school teacher taught us that "ain't" was not proper English and should not be used. We freely used it anyway. In the big city of Austin, it was much less common. My impression of the city/country distinction is that over the years, as the ratio of farm workers to city workers fell it died out completely. As far as Elvis goes, rock and roll would have happened pretty much on schedule without him. Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddly, Gene Vincent, Ivory Joe Hunter, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley and His Comets, The Everly Brothers, Jimmy Reed, and many others would have seen to that. There ain't no doubt about it.

[@ericMT]

It’s not a proper word because a contraction is supposed to be the shortening of 2 works. Like they’re. They are. Not sure why everyone gets that wrong but that is besides the point. Ain’t isn’t a contraction of anything, it’s just a slang word like the thousands of other slang words we have that sometimes end up in modern dictionaries as language evolves. Back in the 40’s and 50’s, language didn’t formally evolve as fast because people weren’t buying dictionaries every year and now it’s all online where they can be updated instantly.

[@PCBEaR65]

I do so LOVE the etymology of words. 🥰 Thank you for this!!

[@sabledawn]

Elvis ain't the originator of "Hound Dog." That was Big Mama Thornton. Ain't comes from Southern and African American Vernacular English, which is mostly old London English, in my opinion (and that of my Londoner linguist wife).

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I love Big Mama Thornton's version.

[@charlescole645]

Well, without Elvis we ain't got no Beatles.

[@JiveDadson]

Hound Dog was written by two white guys, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

[@kiritozweii]

​@JiveDadson what's the point you're trying to convey? Yes, those guys wrote the song specifically for Big Mama Thornton. Taking in account her delivery and dialect.

[@JiveDadson]

@kiritozweii I am trying to convey no more than I said. Thornton claimed that she wrote it. She filed for and received a copyright. I do not know if she ever recanted. That was a long time ago.

[@RGF19651]

I grew up in the Appalachian anthracite region of northeastern Pennsylvania and a common variation on the word “ain’t” was the word “hain’t”. (Word correct doesn’t recognize it). This was used to emphasize the negative as in, “say it hain’t so!” Or “Those New York Yankees hain’t going to win the World Series”. Another local contraction is the word “hain’na”, meaning “hain’t it” as in “Beautiful day, hain’na? This turns a statement into a question.

[@Spriggan828]

Haint is our word for ghost in WNC

[@KenFullman]

As a born and bred cockney I was forever having "ain't" being criticised. Slowly I began to reduce my use of it but, even now I find myself stumbling over things like, should it be "It's not" or "It isn't"? LIfe is so much simpler when you just say "It aint" or even "'Tain't"

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Use "ain't" and be proud.

[@sarahjf69]

My gran was a cockney, and she told my mum off, then when I was growing up she would tell me "ain't ain't grammar" usually with a clip round the ear lol...... I still use it though, or t'aint.

[@emmgeevideo]

First time viewer (or should I say "first-time viewer"?). I wish I could have given this five thumbs up. Outstanding content delivered in a delightful way. I'm still chuckling at "love-sick meteorologist". One thing I'd like to add to the use of "ain't" in formal register is that some (all?) of the phrases you mentioned are quotes. For example, "You ain't seen nothin' yet!" was the tag line used by Al Jolson, the famous American singer from the 1920s.

[@victoriaolson8985]

My Cockney grandmother said “hain’t”. I’ve heard Amy Winehouse say it in her song, ‘They tried to make me go to rehab’ - “I hain’t got the time”) I’m curious about the etymology of hain’t. Is it just an affectation?

[@LetThemTalkTV]

That's interesting you said that. It almost got included in the video. "Hain't" was an alternative to "ain't" as in "haven't/hasn't". You read it in Dickens amongst others.

[@RichardJBarbalace]

"Haint" without the apostrophe is another interesting word common in the Southern US, which is a variation of "haunt", meaning ghost or spirit. Also, look up the color "haint blue" that is popular for painting porches.

[@KateGladstone]

“Hain’t” comes from “haven’t”; many speakers have merged it with “ain’t,” though.

[@cleancoder3838]

Fun fact: regarding ridy as excellent: if something is done really well in German, you could say "sauber" as in "saubere arbeit" (good work result) which also means tidy.

[@Rockstar-d1j]

IT AIN'T OVER TILL IT'S OVER...

[@LetThemTalkTV]

unless it's over

[@nedludd7622]

@@LetThemTalkTV He gave a quote from famous baseball player and later coach Yogi Berra.

[@technopong]

I was taught from a young age that using "ain't" meant that one was poorly educated or low class. Now, even though it's not something I use, I can appreciate its usage in casual conversation amongst my father's side of the family that predominately worked industrial jobs.

[@kcgunesq]

"Ain't ain't" a word was drilled into me so often as a child, I feel wrong saying it unless it is part of an acceptable expression such as "that dog ain't gonna hunt". So much so that I almost can't say it without conscious effort, so accordingly I almost never do. But it doesn't necessarily bother me when others do. ETA: Glad you brought up the fixed phrases.

[@josephtaylor4405]

Ain't ain't a word because ain't ain't in the dictionary. Two things. Ain't is now in the dictionary, and spellchecker recognizes ain't.

[@pholdway5801]

Your parents wanted a well brought up son who would not fall into bad company just out of 'stir'

[@Ryukuss]

in the 80s and early 90s teachers always said it's not a word but everyone used it.

[@joelthomastr]

0:57 Ah yes the folk classic "How Much Is That Donkey in the Window"

[@modestoca25]

I heard that too 😂

[@JuanMartinez-xl2oj]

😂

[@kurbads74]

Thank you very much to me as a non-native speaker you bring much clarity. You kept me puzzled though throughout the video about the random double negative. I believe the no or nothing after ain't is occasionally added to emphasise the negative like in 'you ain't nothing but a hound dog'. And for a rhythm to make the phrase more effective. The double negative is also a signal or informal, intimate, more sincere speech.

[@user-cc2ux9ew1r]

Hey Gideon. Hope you are well. I've listened to the podcast that you did with Monty and I believe you get muddle up when it comes to desert and dessert spelling. Now, this is how you remember the differences, if it's sweet add an extra S. DeSSert 😋😋 Hope that will help you next time. Fare thee well for now and stay mellow our kid. By the way, you look like a matelot with that stripped t-shirt. 😉

[@nevermindthees]

Hi Freddie, thank you for that tip about "dessert". That helps. Yet: his shirt ain't stripped ;-) and he hasn't stripped. It rather looks striped.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

thanks for the spelling tip

[@user-cc2ux9ew1r]

No bother, brother 👌😀

[@carltonbanks5470]

One correction, rock n roll didn't start with Elvis in any sense. He merely copied what was already being done on the "chitlin" circuit. Chuck Berry had already made rock n roll popular before Elvis.

[@Chris-mf1rm]

Words like ain’t were also used by the toffs. The upper class. “Ain’t your fault old boy. Ain’t your fault.” Another variation is “t’ain’t” with the T from “it”. And its opposite “tis”. Slightly archaic SW English dialect. Old Cornish boy used to say “taint worth bothering with”. His brother could reply “tis (worth it)”.

[@hilariousname6826]

Yes, I was surprised he neglected the upper class use. My understanding is that, apart from language fads, they were were secure enough in their social station that they didn't feel the need to fuss over such social markers as 'correct' word/grammar usage. Re: "'tis". As an elderly Canadian, I can remember kids' arguments descending into passionate repetitions of "'Tis so!" "'Tis not!" (often concluding with "You can even ask my mom!", which seemed unanswerable). I don't know if kids here still use "'tis" ....

[@Chris-mf1rm]

@@hilariousname6826 same in my bit of northern England. ‘Tis’’tisnt’

[@rossthebesiegebuilder3563]

'Tis not I for whom you're looking, babe.

[@josesouza9820]

A delightful video, informative with a bit of humour!

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

What about, "I ATE'NT DEAD"?

[@LetThemTalkTV]

that's a quote from where?

[@angelbear_og]

@@LetThemTalkTV Terry Pratchett's Discworld. The witch Granny Weatherwax often goes "out of body" and holds a sign saying "I ATE'NT DEAD" so if anyone finds her they know she, well, ate'nt dead. IIRC Granny isn't very literate, and often uses words incorrectly even in speech. When she finally dies, she crosses that out and writes "I IS PROBLY DEAD" before she lies down and waits for Death.

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

@@LetThemTalkTV Terry Pratchett's Discworld

[@skippytheaustralian9438]

You're alive?

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

@@skippytheaustralian9438 So far...

[@RickMason-yj7pv]

I ain't gonna eat out my heart anymore. Young Rascals song title for a classic song.

[@gerardvanwilgen9917]

But does "There's no sunshine when she's gone" sound so bad?

[@victorstandiford9724]

No. But it doesn't strike the same emotion.

[@flagmichael]

"Ain't" has one characteristic that makes it uniquely useful: it is very different from the root word (which can be "am" or "are.") "Aren't" sets the pace. It is a contraction with a deleted vowel when it is most needed. It takes very little background noise to mistake "aren't" for "are." The same problem affects "isn't."

[@JAOM]

Ah Thank you... that reminds me of a song "Ain't no love in the heart of the city, ain't no love in the heart of town" So now I know.

[@rangersmith4652]

I taught my students that _ain't_ is simply a contraction, as described here. It's particularly useful when one doesn't know which actual word pair to use. I term it lazy English, and in my university composition classes, I disallowed its use outside of dialog.

[@Eevee13-xo]

I never realised this was a question I needed answering, but as soon as I read the title I thought to myself ‘Huh, why do we say ain’t’

[@CrankyBeach]

A similar case with a different word. Some time ago I was trying to explain "Lord willing and the creek don't rise" to a non-native English speaker. I explained that the use of "don't" was (as I understood it) not proper English but it's part of an expression that would sound wrong without it. And another. My 8th grade English teacher had some oddly interesting plastic building blocks that she would sometimes let us play with. One day I broke her heart when I said, "Hey can I play with them things?"

[@lyndavonkanel8603]

I've known the expression, "...Creek don't rise." most of my life and only recently learned it doesn't pertain to water but Indigenous people in our area going on the warpath. Boy, was I surprised!

[@johnswoodgadgets9819]

I have always used 'ain't' for emphases. It is the ultimate cut to the chase word. It carries weight beyond the literal context. That is why it is used so often in song. It does the same thing in conversation. "I want you to climb that tree." "No, I won't, because it is dangerous." (So far, no need for the big gun words.) "I insist you climb that tree!" "Look! I already told you, that aint gonna happen!"

[@stacychipouras8741]

Thank you. This is very interesting to know 💙

[@sandradunn7547]

There's a word combination that we have been discussing and the way it sounds completely different from the initial conversation. The word set "is not" when stated with a local slur/slang/dialect is "snot". It is very interesting when local dialect is mixed with the English language.

[@edimbukvarevic90]

"It AIN'T what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just AIN'T so."

[@pokor5791]

My grandma (born 1916), would say 2 "unique" words, daren't and dassn't. They were both basically equivalent like you dare not do something. She was the only one I have ever heard use such these words.

[@hilariousname6826]

"wouldn't dare" has replaced "daren't" and "dassn't".

[@assininecomment1630]

Excellent vid. Love how you express and explain this. Beautiful pacing and emphasis of each element. 👏 Yep - have sub'd straight away. 🙂

[@RingJando]

I just subscribed & the lesson is already over? Say it ain't so, mate! Tidy job & cheers!

[@eekee6034]

Had me hooked at, "It aint just songs, neither." :)

[@petuniasevan]

My grandma (from Colorado) always corrected me when I said "Ain't". She considered it bad grammar. It took me years to let it creep back into everyday speech. Now that I'm older, I ain't worrying what other people think of my use of it.

[@tricorvus2673]

I was raised Oklahoman, by Kansan parents, and can’t imagine life without Ain’t. Our teachers in the 1970s gave up quite quickly.

[@danielmathis1968]

Thanks for this wonderful work...🎉

[@marynoonan6111]

“There isn’t any sunshine when she’s not here” hahaha. Snorted my coffee out at that 😂😂😂😂😂