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For a long time, I have been convinced that the use of the word am without the word I either before or after it is incorrect. For instance, saying Am going all by itself.

However, I recently ran a search on it to try and clear up the confusion, but that has left me even more confused than I was to begin with!

tchrist
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curiousone2
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4 Answers4

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The pronoun is sometimes omitted in a text in note form. It is required otherwise, and it is usually present in speech.

Barrie England
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    Not in American speech, normally. I'm is the normal pronunciation and it tends to be present or absent as a unit, in cases of Conversational Deletion, for instance: Going to the store but *Am going to the store. Am always sounds strange when it gets isolated by conjunction reduction: I have got the bread and am coming home now. I – John Lawler Sep 02 '13 at 13:35
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    Or, "Forgot the bread and am on my way back to the store." – David Schwartz Sep 02 '13 at 14:38
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People will understand what you mean, but the only context in which you'll see it is a hastily written note or text message. In spoken English people would say "I'm ...". In some dialects this may sound like "Ahm", but it still means "I'm". It would definitely look like an error in a formal context.

You might encounter it spoken in a police or similar radio context, which has its own dialect and idiom: "Roger control, am proceeding to location bravo".

pjc50
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One case where we accept "am" with no pronoun is the childish rejoinder "Am not!" or "Am too!". For example, "You're stupid!" "Am not!" or "You're not going with us." "Am to!"

This might also happen in an informal note to someone. "Am going shopping. Back soon." I don't think I've ever heard anyone say this out loud, though.

Greg Hullender
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In everyday speech pro-drop language is perfectly acceptable. No more needs to be said on this subject.

Although English does not fall into the category of classic pro-drop languages, pronoun-dropping occurs frequently both in formal and informal usage as the cited entry from wikipedia suggests:

English is considered a non-pro-drop language. Nonetheless, subject pronouns are almost always dropped in imperative sentences (e.g., Come here). In informal speech, pronouns may sometimes be dropped in other type of sentences, together with some other words, especially copulas and auxiliaries: [Have you] ever been there? [I'm] going to the shops. [[Do] you] want to come [with [me]]? Seen on signs: [I am/We are] out to lunch; [I/we will be] back at 1:00 [P.M]. What do you think [of it]? – I like [it]! (the latter only in some dialects) In speech, when pronouns are not dropped, they are more often elided than other words in an utterance. Relative pronouns are often dropped in short restrictive clauses: That's the man [whom] I saw. Note that these elisions are generally restricted to very informal speech and certain fixed expressions, and the rules for their use are complex and vary among dialects.

user49727
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  • Can we have an example of where it is acceptable? And your link is about languages that don't need the pronoun at all, not about dropping it in certain situations. – terdon Sep 02 '13 at 14:22
  • the link provided answers all your questions. – user49727 Sep 02 '13 at 14:24
  • and this very page contains ample good examples:) – user49727 Sep 02 '13 at 14:27
  • The page you linked to does not touch on the specific example of am. Yes, it is sometimes dropped in conversation but not very often, it is more a feature of texting than speaking. – terdon Sep 02 '13 at 14:29
  • what?? Excluding I is still pro drop. Please tell me what is wrong with the example given below by @John Lawler – user49727 Sep 02 '13 at 14:37
  • Absolutely nothing, good point. I was thinking of less complete sentences like "Am on my way back" which I would not say though would likely text. – terdon Sep 02 '13 at 14:49
  • But the link you give has: 'English is considered a non-pro-drop language.' and 'In informal speech, pronouns may sometimes be dropped in ... sentences.' This doesn't sound exactly the same as being 'perfectly acceptable'. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 02 '13 at 15:21
  • I wouldn't dispute that - what is your point? – user49727 Sep 02 '13 at 15:23
  • I've added to the comment. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 02 '13 at 15:25
  • you seem to have missed the qualifier 'in everyday speech' – user49727 Sep 02 '13 at 15:27
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    No I don't seem to have missed it. You seem to be missing the relative unusualness ('may sometimes') of the dropping of the pronoun even in informal (everyday) speech (I'm quoting from the link you give here). Relatively unusual constructions are often not perfectly acceptable, and a cavalier 'No more needs to be said on this subject' is certainly unacceptable. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 02 '13 at 15:35
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    What @Edwin said. The text of this answer gives the misleading impression that pro-drop language is a recognised variant within English. But as the link points out, the term applies to languages, not variations within a language. And it says English is *not* a "pro-drop language", which accords with most people's perception that dropping the pronoun isn't normally acceptable (except in already-stilted contexts like txt msgs). – FumbleFingers Sep 02 '13 at 16:13
  • The text doesn't say anything like you suggest. The answer quite succinctly points out that pro drop tendencies in everyday speech are acceptable. – user49727 Sep 02 '13 at 16:24
  • Quite apart from that, why there is such objection to this usage when the linked wikipedia article provides ample illustration in the 'English Language' section for this practice is mystifying. – user49727 Sep 02 '13 at 16:30
  • My objection is not so much to the usage (though I rarely use it myself) but to your 'perfectly acceptable' claim, your dismissive 'no more needs to be said', and your misuse of the term 'pro-drop language'. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 02 '13 at 16:57
  • this judgement is clearly based on a distorted interpretation, not just of my answer but, still quite mystifyingly, of the resource cited. Am done with this peskiness tbh. – user49727 Sep 02 '13 at 17:08