The IT crowd
I was watching an episode of the British tv series "The IT crowd", and a character says "Aren't I?", and I wonder why doesn't he say "Am I not?" instead...I ask it here so I can show the photo of the scene :)
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Corrections · 5
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Just for clarity, "Aren't I?" sounds very natural in American English too, but an English speaker of any dialect would never say it without the contraction. You can't really say, "Are not I?"
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Thanks everyone! :)
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"Aren't I?" is more often said in UK English than "Am I not?". In Scots and Irish English, you often hear ''Am I not?'' or, ''Amn't I?'' You are right, grammatically speaking ''Am I not?'' is best. It is probably safer for exams, too. But is rarely said.
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"Aren't I?" is more often said in UK English than "Am I not?". In Scots and Irish English, you often hear ''Am I not?'' or, ''Amn't I?'' You are right, grammatically speaking ''Am I not?'' is best. It is probably safer for exams, too. But is rarely said.
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'Am I not?' sounds stilted and formal, maybe even pretentious. 'Aren't I?' is just more colloquial and easy-going way of asking the question.
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