'This Ain't It' and Other Short Forms
2021-04-16
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1If you often use online social media, you will see many examples of informal English.
2One expression that you may wonder about is: "This ain't it, chief."
3It is used to tell someone they are wrong about something they posted on social media.
4For example, a drink company posted a question asking if people would enjoy pumpkin spice flavored juice.
5Many people answered the question with the same four words: "This ain't it chief," meaning "no."
6(Ain't) Many respected grammar books will tell you that "ain't" is "nonstandard English," meaning not usual.
7Popular dictionaries have warned against using the word for years.
8So, its recent rise in use might make you think it is a new slang word.
9However, "aint" has a long, rich history in British and American literature.
10The contraction "ain't" is usually a short form of "am not,"
11but it can also mean "is not" or "are not" as well as "have not" or "has not."
12Before changes in pronunciation in English, the short form of "are not" was written "an't."
13We would pronounce it /ant/.
14It appears in a 1695 comedy, Love for Love:
15You need not sit so near one, if you have anything to say, I an't deaf.
16The spelling changed to "ain't" - and that first appeared in print in 1778, in a novel called Evilina.
17Later, you can find it in Charles Dicken's novels as he tried to show readers the Cockney dialect, a speaking style common among working-class Londoners.
18Like most informal contractions, we must tell you it is best to avoid "ain't" in writing for school or work.
19But it is something you are likely to hear from English-speaking friends.
20Now you will understand what it means.
21(Tryna) Another informal contraction you will read in social media is "tryna."
22On the surface, you might guess that this is a short form of "trying to."
23It means "attempt" in these Twitter comments:
24Everybody tryna out do everybody...
25Just tryna make art with photographs.
26But another meaning seems to be at work in sentences like this:
27Ain't nobody tryna work tomorrow.
28The meaning in this sentence is "wants to."
29 It is also clear in this question:
30Who tryna draw me in this shirt.
31In other words, Who wants to draw me?
32In this sentence, the word "to" shows the speaker means to say "I want to be funny."
33I'm just tryna to be funny though.
34(Short forms in song) Finally, many informal contractions show in writing how words sound when we speak quickly.
35I do not recommend that you use these in your own writing, unless you are showing exactly what someone said.
36Or maybe you can use them to write poems or songs, as you can see in these examples.
37You will find "gonna," the short form of "going" + "to" in this song by rock band Twisted Sister:
38We're not gonna take it,
39no we ain't gonna take it,
40we're not gonna take it anymore
41And "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.
42You will also hear "gonna" in this song.
43Gimme, gimme shelter
44Or I'm gonna fade away
45The word "lemme" combines "let" + "me." Singer Jain says,
46Lemme lemme dream again
47Lemme dream till the end of the day
48Frank Sinatra used "kinda," that is, "kind" + "of," to describe a feeling:
49Feelin' kinda Sunday...
50and Doc Walker uses dunno, or "don't" + "know," to tell his love,
51I dunno, I dunno, I dunno what I'd do without your love
52And that's Everyday Grammar.
53I'm Jill Robbins.
1If 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 pumpkin spice flavored juice. Many people answered the question with the same four words: "This ain't it chief," meaning "no." 2Ain't 3Many 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 slang word. However, "aint" has a long, rich history in British and American literature. 4The contraction "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: 5You need not sit so near one, if you have anything to say, I an't deaf. 6The 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 dialect, a speaking style common among working-class Londoners. 7Like most informal contractions, 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. 8Tryna 9Another 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: 10Everybody tryna out do everybody... 11Just tryna make art with photographs. 12But another meaning seems to be at work in sentences like this: 13Ain't nobody tryna work tomorrow. 14The meaning in this sentence is "wants to." It is also clear in this question: 15Who tryna draw me in this shirt. 16In other words, Who wants to draw me? 17In this sentence, the word "to" shows the speaker means to say "I want to be funny." 18I'm just tryna to be funny though. 19Short forms in song 20Finally, 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. 21You will find "gonna," the short form of "going" + "to" in this song by rock band Twisted Sister: 22We're not gonna take it, 23no we ain't gonna take it, 24we're not gonna take it anymore 25And "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. 26Gimme, gimme shelter 27Or I'm gonna fade away 28The word "lemme" combines "let" + "me." Singer Jain says, 29Lemme lemme dream again 30Lemme dream till the end of the day 31Frank Sinatra used "kinda," that is, "kind" + "of," to describe a feeling: 32Feelin' kinda Sunday... 33and Doc Walker uses dunno, or "don't" + "know," to tell his love, 34I dunno, I dunno, I dunno what I'd do without your love 35And that's Everyday Grammar. 36I'm Jill Robbins. 37Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 38__________________________________________________________________ 39Words in This Story 40informal - adj. having a friendly and relaxed quality 41post - v. to add (a message) to an online message board 42contraction - n. a short form of a word or word group that is made by leaving out a sound or letter 43pumpkin spice - n. a popular flavor used in autumn in the U.S. 44flavor - n. the quality of something that you can taste 45How often do you use words like "ain't" and "gonna" when you speak English? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.