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- The dictionary says that "ain’t" is an example of nonstandard English.
- Standard English follows rules of grammar and usage that people learn in school.
- Nonstandard English includes words or expressions that violate these rules.
- "Ain’t" is an attempt to combine the words "am" and "not" in a way similar to the way that "don’t" combines the words "do" and "not."
- Experts say it first appeared in English in 1778.
- They say people in that time period also developed the use of "don’t" and "won’t."
- Later, grammar experts criticized the use of "ain’t" because it was used by uneducated people.
- In the nineteenth century, it was criticized because it was not a combination of two words.
- The meaning of "ain’t" also expanded to include "is not," "has not" and "have not," as in the expression "I ain’t got any."
- Grammar experts and teachers continue to criticize the use of "ain’t."
- They say it is slang and should not be used in conversation.
- Yet sometimes it seems to be the right word to use for informal speech.
- It has been used in many expressions such as "You ain’t seen nothing yet," "Say it ain’t so" and "Ain’t that the truth!"
- People also use it in a joking way.
- However, it is not used in writing unless the writer is trying to express a kind of informal relation among a group of people.