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Since "amn't I" is so clunky, is "aren't I" grammatically correct? Or is the only way to say this "Am I not"?

Daniel
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    @waiwai: The linked question does not address whether "aren't I" is considered grammatically correct. All it establishes is that "aren't I" and "ain't I" are preferred because they're easier to say. – Daniel Jul 15 '11 at 17:38
  • Related: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/29299/why-aint-i-and-arent-i-instead-of-amnt-i – nohat Jul 15 '11 at 17:47
  • I suggest using the "flag" option (if available) to bring issues like this up to moderators directly. Waiwai probably just skimmed the related question before closing this one (I know I have done that a few times myself) without realizing that this question asks something not addressed in the other. – nohat Jul 15 '11 at 17:49
  • Yes .... but from where does it come? Are there any historical references? –  May 21 '14 at 12:49
  • It's not grammatically correct. It's supposed to be,"am I not?" There are,however,instances when you should switch between "am I" and "am I not?"

    Incorrect example: I'm so dark,aren't I? Correct example: I'm so dark,am I not?

    Incorrect Example: I'm dying,aren't I? Correct Example: I'm dying,am I?

     – JeremiahTDK Feb 25 '19 at 18:49

4 Answers4

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The NOAD reports that aren't is the contraction of are not, and am not; in the latter case, it is used only in questions.

Why aren't I being given a pay raise?

The Collins English Dictionary says the same, but it says that using aren't as contraction of am not is informal, and chiefly British.

  1. informal, mainly British (used in interrogative sentences)
    am not
apaderno
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Aren't I? is standard English as the negative interrogative of I am. So it is correct.

Ain't I? is also common though regarded as a lower register. Am I not? sounds far too picky. I am, init? is also used, though I hate it. Amn't I might be logical, but only seems to exist, if at all, in Scottish or Irish dialect.

Henry
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    Could you cite an authority on the subject? – Daniel Jul 15 '11 at 18:09
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contractions_of_negated_auxiliary_verbs_in_English#Colloquial_contractions has a discussion – Henry Jul 15 '11 at 18:14
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    I'm sorry, but it's still not clear. Are you saying that it is correct grammar? – Daniel Jul 15 '11 at 18:21
  • @drm65: he said that "Aren't I?" is correct grammar (accepted in formal and informal settings), but that "Ain't I?" is appropriate only in a very, very informal setting (i.e. not correct for writing, but it is exactly what people say in certain informal contexts). – Mitch Jul 15 '11 at 19:30
  • I have also never heard "I am, init?" What is that from? – Daniel Jul 15 '11 at 19:35
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    @drm65. Aren't I? is correct grammar, indeed standard. Init? is London youth vernacular adopted from immigrants, used as a universal negative question word, derived from isn't it? but used for all three persons, singular and plural, and something I discourage. – Henry Jul 15 '11 at 20:30
  • How/why is "aren't" the negative of "am"? You wouldn't say "I are going" or "Are I going", you'd say "I am going" or "Am I going", so it makes no sense to suddenly switch to "are"; it should be "Amn't I going" or "I amn't going". English is such a mess, if enough people keep doing things wrong for long enough, it magically becomes "correct". The day that dictionaries start adding "would of" as acceptable is the day I quit speaking English. – Synetech Oct 14 '20 at 15:40
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Just say "am I not", which carries no error other than causing one to sound like Barbara Eden portraying "Jeannie". Easy.

RyeɃreḁd
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Gary Jones
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Just because people say "aren't I" to avoid saying "ain't I," the original contraction of "am I not," does not make it correct. It's an odious "error if pretension." What's so difficult about "amn't I" (no harder to say than "wasn't I") - that form would be graceful and logical, so let's start using it.

Susanna Lundgren
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    There's nothing difficult about amn’t I, but as was already mentioned, it simply does not exist in Modern English, except in Ireland and Scotland. Just because you personally don't like something and it isn't ‘original’ doesn't make it a mistake or an error. And ain’t I is not a contraction of am I not, but of am not I. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Feb 11 '14 at 00:25
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    How is "aren't" I pretentious? It's still a contraction. I think "am I not" would be the actually pretentious version... – herisson Dec 08 '16 at 22:40