Rofl yet I see "wrongly" instead of "incorrectly". ;D

thank you #18, was wondering if someone would point that out. also, can someone please tell me what words ain't is a contraction of????

#17 I agree, that's probably why the teacher used it. And OP fell right in to her/his joke. #18 About "wrongly", eh, whatever. I never said I was a specialist or anything. If people had to be specialists to point out one detail, it would be a boring world. ;) English isn't even my first language, or my second, so I don't think it's a big deal anyway. #21 If you need to know and it's not glaringly obvious, "ain't" is a contraction of "are not".

first of all it was not "glaringly obvious" to me that "ain't" is a contraction o "are not" since there is an "i" in "ain't" and none in either of the two root words. also, if it means "are not" then it is most often used incorrectly to mean "isn't" finally, don't infer that it is stupid for people not to know that ain't is a proper word, and then gloss over your own grammatical errors as if they're no big deal. don't dish it if you can't take it.

I've always thought that "ain't" was a contraction of BOTH "are not" and/or "is not". I've always thought of them to be slang but still considered a word (not proper though). The word "gonna" is slang also, (in my eyes). I'm just waiting for the word "stupider" to be accepted any day now.....

I hate to break it to you, but "wrongly" was not used wrongly here.

"Ain't" is not "proper English". think back to the old phrase "ain't ain't a word". It's slang. It was only recently included in the dictionary as an actual word. But that does not make it grammatically correct. So, yes, it's a word...but it's as proper as using "bromance" which has also been accepted into the dictionary.

29 - Please take the time to look up the meaning of "sarcasm". I'm sure you will understand the comment much better if you have a base understanding of what was being demonstrated. There's no need for a hissy fit.

omfg you people are dumb....ain't = Am Not and gonna is NOT proper english

43- To me, if it's in the dictionary, it's a word. Even if it seems stupid, like 'meh', 'bootylicious', or 'bromance'. :P

I think we've all gotten very sidetracked here. I think the point is that regardless of whether you think ain't is a word or not, it really should not be used in an academic setting. you wouldn't include a personal essay with your college application talking about how you hope to be accepted cause you "ain't" gonna get far in life without a degree. ya know?

56 No one is claiming "ain't" not to be a word. It's if it's considered "proper" English. Now...... "If you ain't got no money take your broke ass home!"(:

any* broken* SHIT, I'M JUST KIDDING! SERIOUSLY, STOP HITTING ME!!!

As 47 pointed out, if anybody says something wrong, it's automatically sarcasm. Especially when you have no proof that it's sarcasm, you're allowed to call it sarcasm to try to make the person who corrected the wrong-doer feel silly. Blah, these "it was sarcasm, you dummy!" comments are getting irritating.

You're right, I don't have proof that it was in fact sarcasm. I do, however, have this thing... I think it's called freedom to interpret? Yeah. Gee. I almost forgot that existed. I interpreted it to be sarcasm. It may not have been. Let's ask the person who posted the "sarcastic" comment, then. Shall we? Edit: This is the part which I was referring to. "#21 If you need to know and it's not glaringly obvious, "ain't" is a contraction of "are not"." It's an IRONIC comment, which can be deemed sarcastic, since it's NOT glaringly obvious. Derp.

Steff, it is clear that your intelligence is only bested by your exceeding confidence in said intelligence. Take that however you want to. Ironic, sarcastic or just the sad truth. ;) Seriously though to say that "if it's not glaringly obvious ain't is a contraction of are not" can be interpreted as sarcasm on the basis that is it irony is simply not true. To say "it is glaringly obvious how dull this conversation has become" would be a true ironic use of "glaringly obvious". That point combined with the fact that the commenter did not use sarcasm in any other portion of their post would lead most reasoning people to conclude the commenter was being serious.

So, grammar experts, what exactly is "ain't" a contraction of? What makes it a real word?

Ain't is a contraction for; am not, are not, or is not. What makes it a real word is the fact that it now appears in the dictionary with a definition and everything. It's just not "proper" English. I'm not a grammar expert but I do know that those are the answers to your question.

82 - Would lead you to believe... perhaps. But then, how is it -not- sarcastic to say that it's "glaringly obvious" what 'ain't' is a contraction of? None of the root words that make up 'ain't' are obviously placed in the word. Do you see 'am' or 'is'? No. I highly doubt they were being serious because it's "glaringly obvious" that it's not "glaringly obvious". Capece? The person was responding to three different people. They may or may not have been sarcastic, BUT, just because it doesn't seem like they were in the first two responses in that post, doesn't mean they weren't for the third and final response. Now, if the post wasn't directed to three different people, I would agree with you. However, this is not the case...

The same as aren't Damn. Someone already answered this.

Strangely enough, it’s ‘am not’

Eh, I have to disagree. The "Do as I say" bit doesn't work very well past a certain age; if the teacher would have marked "ain't" as incorrect in an essay, she shouldn't have used it in conversation. It's a somewhat bigger issue than, say, using "gonna".

I doubt that was on the test but that's just a guess. Most teachers I've had weren't great grammar-wise but they were still in charge of the classroom. I agree it's not thr best way to sleep but it is sometimes the way it is. My point was OP needs to pay more attention to what the teacher says and less attention to how she says it.

I doubt that was on the test but that's just a guess. Most teachers I've had weren't great grammar-wise but they were still in charge of the classroom. I agree it's not thr best way to sleep but it is sometimes the way it is. My point was OP needs to pay more attention to what the teacher says and less attention to how she says it.

Sorry Irish, Conversational english is not the same as written english. Things are a lot looser in a conversation. I almost never write the same way that I speak.

Yeah, I see your points; maybe I'm just showing my roots here. "Ain't", when used seriously, is a pet peeve of mine. I grew up in WV, so my parents were pretty particular about things like that. Teachers who used words like "ain't" were one of the reasons I was homeschooled. :]

u and kno aren't though.... :D