英语语法：186 Is “Ain't” a Word?

Grammar Girl here.

Today's topic is “ain't” and a few other troublesome contractions².
To quote the famous opening lines of the first-ever talking picture, The Jazz Singer: “Wait a minute, wait a minute! You ain't heard nothin' yet!”
You may have been chided—or at least corrected—for using this slang contraction¹, but do you know how “ain't” came to be and when it’s OK to use it?
Review of Contractions
You’ll recall that when two words are pushed together and at least one letter is removed and replaced by an apostrophe, a contraction is formed.
“You would” or “you had” becomes “you’d.”  “You’d love this carrot cake, Bunny.” Or, “You’d better stand up now, Neil.”
“She is” or “she has” becomes “she’s.”  “She’s very happy for you, Joy.” Or, “She’s been walking all over you, Matt.”
What Should You Say Instead of “Ain’t”?
The Random³ House Dictionary points out that although “ain’t” is considered improper⁴ or slang, it actually arose as an alternative to two other contractions—one clunky and one just plain wrong grammatically.
Let’s assume someone says, “I’m doing all right, ain’t I?”  Well, what is “ain’t I” replacing? It might be, “am I not?”
“I’m doing all right, am I not?”  That’s correct but a little awkward—and, in today’s casual conversation, perhaps unduly⁵ proper.  Flip⁶ that around and shorten it into a contraction, and it’s even clunkier: “I’m doing all right, amn’t I?”
A worse alternative is “aren’t I?”  That suggests the construction, “I are doing all right, aren't I?”
Random House, in its usage section, offers a better option: “I’m doing all right, isn’t that so?”  Simpler yet, try this: “Am I doing all right?”  And remember, “all right” is two words, “all”–with two l’s--and “right.”
It Ain’t Right to Say “Ain’t”
“Ain’t” is not used exclusively in the first person singular, of course.
Let’s conjugate⁷ it:
· I ain’t
· You ain’t
· He, she or it ain’t
· We ain’t
· You ain’t
· They ain’t
Wow.  That’s really versatile⁸.  It’s a shame it’s usually not acceptable, ain’t it? Ooh, I'm cringing⁹.
When Is “Ain't” Acceptable?
About the only times “ain't” is acceptable are in dialogue or when you want to convey a colloquial¹⁰ tone. For example, in the very first example I gave you from “The Jazz Singer”--“You ain't heard nothin' yet--” “ain't” gives an earthy tone to the title character, Jakie Rabinowitz.
In the movie The Wizard of Oz, the Cowardly Lion says, “Ain’t it the truth, Ain’t it the truth?!” Here, “ain’t” is used for comedic effect.
In grade school, one might have heard a smart-alecky classmate say, “I ain’t gonna use ‘ain’t’ anymore, ’cuz ‘ain’t’ ain’t in the dictionary.”  Well, actually it is; but you need to be very careful about how you use it.
Maybe the best-remembered “ain’t” was part of a misquote. In the wake of the 1919 Black Sox scandal, in which members of the Chicago White Sox helped throw the World Series, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson left the courthouse and a young fan asked, "It ain't true, is it, Joe?"
A newspaper reporter apparently¹¹ juiced it up a bit, and “Say it ain’t so, Joe,” became part of sports lore–even finding its way into last year’s vice¹² presidential debate.
The Quick and Dirty Tip
As with many coinages, the rule here is one of context.  In business, scholarly, and other formal writings, omit “ain’t,” unless it’s used in direct quotation¹³, and never go around saying it in general conversation unless it's part of a joke or well-known saying.  In dialogue or to convey a vernacular¹⁴ tone in prose, use it with discretion¹⁵.  Treat it like spicy¹⁶ mustard; don’t make a whole sandwich from it.
Is It “Could’ve” or “Could Of”?
While we’re on the subject of contractions, let’s take a look at what has happened to the constructions “would have,” “could have,” and “should have.” People have heard the perfectly¹⁷ correct “could’ve”—and heard it as “could of.”
There’s the helping¹⁸ verb “could,” but then if you spell it “could of,” it has no main verb to help.  So, in theory, it’s helping a preposition, “of.”  Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.  It's “could have.”
In previous episodes, we’ve talked about how language evolves and how some stricter constructions have become tacitly acceptable through widespread use.  Well, not for this one. It's a hard-and-fast rule.
To keep decent English alive, make a little extra effort and enunciate¹⁹: “would have,” “could have,” and “should have.”
“Well,” you might say, “I’ve meant to improve my diction.”
Yeah, yeah -- woulda, coulda, shoulda.
Should You Say You “Could Care Less” or “Couldn’t Care Less”?
Now let’s imagine that someone tells you something that makes no difference to you.
“Glenn and Dale said they won’t be joining us on our trip to the valley.”
To express your absolute indifference²⁰, you reply, “I could care less.”
Oops.  Actually, you couldn’t care—could not—care less.  You’re at zero on the care-o-meter, and there are no negative numbers on that scale.
If you say you could care less, you are saying implicitly²¹ that you do care, even if it’s just a little bit, a tad, a jot²², an iota—dare we say, a smidge.
A Bonus Tip!

In the cases of “could of” and “I could care less,” remember the old standby: Think about the meaning of what you’re saying.  If a construction doesn’t really make sense, it’s probably not what you mean to convey.

Ragan.com

This podcast was written by Rob Reinalda, executive editor for Ragan Communications (word_czar on Twitter), and I'm Mignon Fogarty, the author of The Grammar Devotional.

Grammar Girl iPhone App

Also, we just released a Grammar Girl iPhone app which you can get at iTunes. If you have the app, this week you'll get a bonus audio tip about when to capitalize cocktail²³ names and an image of a sign gone horribly wrong.

That's all. Thanks for listening.

 

1 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

2 contractions   

n.收缩( contraction的名词复数 )；缩减；缩略词；（分娩时）子宫收缩

参考例句：

• Contractions are much more common in speech than in writing. 缩略词在口语里比在书写中常见得多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Muscle contractions are powered by the chemical adenosine triphosphate(ATP ). 肌肉收缩是由化学物质三磷酸腺苷(ATP)提供动力的。 来自辞典例句

3 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

4 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

5 unduly   

adv.过度地，不适当地

参考例句：

• He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
• He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。

6 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

7 conjugate   

vt.使成对，使结合；adj.共轭的，成对的

参考例句：

• A partition that is its own conjugate is ealled self-conjugate.一个分析如与其自身共轭称为自共轭。
• It is important to learn to conjugate irregular verbs.学会不规则动词的变化是相当重要的。

8 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

9 cringing   

adj.谄媚，奉承

参考例句：

• He had a cringing manner but a very harsh voice.他有卑屈谄媚的神情，但是声音却十分粗沙。
• She stepped towards him with a movement that was horribly cringing.她冲他走了一步，做出一个低三下四，令人作呕的动作。

10 colloquial   

adj.口语的，会话的

参考例句：

• It's hard to understand the colloquial idioms of a foreign language.外语里的口头习语很难懂。
• They have little acquaintance with colloquial English. 他们对英语会话几乎一窍不通。

11 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

12 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

13 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

14 vernacular   

adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名

参考例句：

• The house is built in a vernacular style.这房子按当地的风格建筑。
• The traditional Chinese vernacular architecture is an epitome of Chinese traditional culture.中国传统民居建筑可谓中国传统文化的缩影。

15 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

16 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

17 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

19 enunciate   

v.发音；（清楚地）表达

参考例句：

• Actors learn how to enunciate clearly in the theatrical college.演员在戏剧学院学习怎样清晰地发音。
• He is always willing to enunciate his opinions on the subject of politics.他总是愿意对政治问题发表意见。

20 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

21 implicitly   

adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地

参考例句：

• Many verbs and many words of other kinds are implicitly causal. 许多动词和许多其他类词都蕴涵着因果关系。
• I can trust Mr. Somerville implicitly, I suppose? 我想，我可以毫无保留地信任萨莫维尔先生吧？

22 jot   

n.少量；vi.草草记下；vt.匆匆写下

参考例句：

• I'll jot down their address before I forget it.我得赶快把他们的地址写下来，免得忘了。
• There is not a jot of evidence to say it does them any good.没有丝毫的证据显示这对他们有任何好处。

23 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。