OCR Text |
Show "Aren't I" or "Ain't " George Bernard Shaw is quoted as being out to put an end to the "damnable "damn-able affectation" of present-day English Eng-lish writers who see an evidence of culture in using "aren't I" instead of "am I not." "Aren't," says the writer quoted, is plural and "I" is singular. You would not say "Are I not right," would you? Then why use the plural form in the contraction. The homely form "ain't" is much more nearly correct, cor-rect, being derived directly from "anm't," the contraction of ' am not." |