VOA慢速英语2021--'This Ain't It' and Other Short Forms

'This Ain't It' and Other Short Forms

By Dr. Jill Robbins

15 April 2021

If you often use online social media, you will see many examples of informal English. One expression that you may wonder about is: "This ain't it, chief." It is used to tell someone they are wrong about something they posted on social media. For example, a drink company posted a question asking if people would enjoy pumpkin¹ spice flavored³ juice. Many people answered the question with the same four words: "This ain't it chief," meaning "no."

Ain't

Many respected grammar books will tell you that "ain't" is "nonstandard English," meaning not usual. Popular dictionaries have warned against using the word for years. So, its recent rise in use might make you think it is a new slang⁴ word. However, "aint" has a long, rich history in British and American literature.

The contraction⁵ "ain't" is usually a short form of "am not," but it can also mean "is not" or "are not" as well as "have not" or "has not." Before changes in pronunciation in English, the short form of "are not" was written "an't." We would pronounce it /ant/. It appears in a 1695 comedy, Love for Love:

You need not sit so near one, if you have anything to say, I an't deaf.

The spelling changed to "ain't" - and that first appeared in print in 1778, in a novel called Evilina. Later, you can find it in Charles Dicken's novels as he tried to show readers the Cockney dialect⁶, a speaking style common among working-class Londoners.

Like most informal contractions⁷, we must tell you it is best to avoid "ain't" in writing for school or work. But it is something you are likely to hear from English-speaking friends. Now you will understand what it means.

Tryna

Another informal contraction you will read in social media is "tryna." On the surface, you might guess that this is a short form of "trying to." It means "attempt" in these Twitter comments:

Everybody tryna out do everybody...

Just tryna make art with photographs.

But another meaning seems to be at work in sentences like this:

Ain't nobody tryna work tomorrow.

The meaning in this sentence is "wants to." It is also clear in this question:

Who tryna draw me in this shirt.

In other words, Who wants to draw me?

In this sentence, the word "to" shows the speaker means to say "I want to be funny."

I'm just tryna to be funny though.

Short forms in song

Finally, many informal contractions show in writing how words sound when we speak quickly. I do not recommend that you use these in your own writing, unless you are showing exactly what someone said. Or maybe you can use them to write poems or songs, as you can see in these examples.

You will find "gonna," the short form of "going" + "to" in this song by rock band Twisted Sister:

We're not gonna take it,

no we ain't gonna take it,

we're not gonna take it anymore

And "gimme," the short form of "give me" appears in the TV show called "Gimme a Break!" as well as the Rolling Stones song, Gimme Shelter. You will also hear "gonna" in this song.

Gimme, gimme shelter

Or I'm gonna fade away

The word "lemme" combines "let" + "me." Singer Jain says,

Lemme lemme dream again

Lemme dream till the end of the day

Frank⁸ Sinatra used "kinda," that is, "kind" + "of," to describe a feeling:

Feelin' kinda Sunday...

and Doc Walker uses dunno, or "don't" + "know," to tell his love,

I dunno, I dunno, I dunno what I'd do without your love

And that's Everyday Grammar.

Words in This Story

informal – adj. having a friendly and relaxed quality

post – v. to add (a message) to an online message board

contraction – n. a short form of a word or word group that is made by leaving out a sound or letter

pumpkin spice – n. a popular flavor² used in autumn in the U.S.

flavor – n. the quality of something that you can taste

1 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

2 flavor   

n.味，滋味，味道；风味；vt.调味，加味于

参考例句：

• I like the flavor of chocolate.我喜欢巧克力的味道。
• Each flavor was totally unique.每一种味道都是独一无二的。

3 flavored   

v.给…调味( flavor的过去式和过去分词 )；给…增添风趣

参考例句：

• She flavored the fish with sugar and vinegar. 她用糖和醋给鱼调味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The olives are steeped in flavored oil. 橄榄浸泡在加过香料的油里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

5 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。

6 dialect   

n.方言，土语，地方话

参考例句：

• He wrote a play in a local dialect.他用当地方言写了一个剧本。
• They began to speak rapidly in dialect.他们开始叽里呱啦地说起地方话来。

7 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

8 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
• She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。