# Forum Other Languages English for Russians - Изучаем английский язык Learn English - Грамматика, переводы, словарный запас  Is it rude to use "ain't"?

## Ataklena

Can I use it when I'm talking to elder persons?

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## kwatts59

I do not think it is rude but I would not say it because it sounds uneducated.

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## Ataklena

OK, thanks.
Does it sound uneducated when it's used in songs?

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## kwatts59

Some songs are intended to sound uneducated.
In what song have you heard it?

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## BlackMage

Ain't ain't a word so we ain't gonna use it.

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## Ataklena

Say, U2 "Ain't love the sweetest thing".
By the way, what about "wanna" and "..don't.. no more"?

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## Chuvak

> Some songs are intended to sound uneducated.
> In what song have you heard it?

 There are a lot of songs in which you can hear it. For an instance there is a song which title is "ain't nobody's business" may be you've heard it, haven't you?

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## Chuvak

> Ain't ain't a word so we ain't gonna use it.

 there ain't no words I ain't gonna use!!!  ::   (is it a right sentence?)

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## ancestry

Ain't is not accepted for use in proper English.  It is considered to be slang and used either by uneducated people who do not know better or in rare situations fpr emphasis. 
I would not use the word in conversations at all.  It just makes the speaker sound ignorant in my opinion.   
Perhaps use in a song may be more acceptable depending on the artistic meaning of the lyrics.

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## basurero

> I would not use the word in conversations at all.  It just makes the speaker sound ignorant in my opinion.

 Especially if you're a foreigner, it would just sound strange then.

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## Chuvak

sorry for "off-topic", but would you be so kind as to check some sentecses:
1. Why should you be searching for a job so eagerly?
2. I was fired because of sucking the project and I don't want to have to ask somebody for help. I don't want to be begger
1. I see, but could you please explain me why do you you think that they're going to hire you as a programmer?
2. Because there was a day when I told them there'd come a day when I would be the greatest programmer the world ever seen. And now I have!!! 
thanks in advance!!  ::

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## Ataklena

*ancestry*, thank you for your explanation.   

> Originally Posted by ancestry  I would not use the word in conversations at all.  It just makes the speaker sound ignorant in my opinion.     Especially if you're a foreigner, it would just sound strange then.

 Oh I see what you mean. 
Funny, but foreigners (everywhere) just love using slang   ::

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## basurero

> sorry for "off-topic", but would you be so kind as to check some sentecses:
> 1. Why should you be searching for a job so eagerly?
> 2. I was fired because of sucking the project and I don't want to have to ask somebody for help. I don't want to be begger
> 1. I see, but could you please explain me why do you you think that they're going to hire you as a programmer?
> 2. Because there was a day when I told them there'd come a day when I would be the greatest programmer the world ever seen. And now I have!!! 
> thanks in advance!!

 1. Why should you be searching for a job so eagerly? - Ok but sounds a bit akward without any context. 
2. I was fired _(because of sucking the project??)_ and I don't want to have to ask somebody for help. I don't want to be *beggar* - What do you mean by "sucking the project"? 
1. I see, but could you please explain *to* me why *you think* that they're going to hire you as a programmer? 
2. Because there was a day when I told them there'd come a day when I would be the greatest programmer the world *has* ever seen. And now I have!!! - Ok, but better not to use "there was a day" and "there'd come a day" in the same sentence. It makes it sound confusing.

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## Chuvak

I thought that if you suck smth, you make it worse, screw it up, spoil it. is it right?  ::  
"because of sucking the project" -> "because of spoiling the project" ???  ::

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## Chuvak

> *ancestry*, thank you for your explanation.        Originally Posted by basurero        Originally Posted by ancestry  I would not use the word in conversations at all.  It just makes the speaker sound ignorant in my opinion.     Especially if you're a foreigner, it would just sound strange then.   Oh I see what you mean. 
> Funny, but foreigners (everywhere) just love using slang

 foreigners use slang words and abbreviations even frequently than natives do... I saw many times when foreigners wrote smth like "How a u?" or "do u now" in chat rooms, forums, ICQ

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## Бармалей

> I thought that if you suck smth, you make it worse, screw it up, spoil it. is it right?  
> "because of sucking the project" -> "because of spoiling the project" ???

 No, no,no!   ::   That sounds bizarre! You're right, we do frequently use the word "suck(s)" but not like you used it. Usually we say:
<something> sucks! (example: Exams suck! The government sucks! Work sucks!) or just more vaguely we'll say "That sucks" or "Today sucked" or "He sucks."
In your example, we'd say "That project sucked" or "This project sucks." And it's not so much that you're "spoiling" something, but that it's either bad or unappealling.

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## Rtyom

Oh, I've got a song named "Du What U Du"!!

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## Ataklena

> Oh, I've got a song named "Du What U Du"!!

 There will always be some "auththars"  ::

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## Rtyom

They could distort "what" into "wot"...   ::   
Just remembered, there's also "hain't" thing. Short for "have not" or "has not".

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## TATY

> They could distort "what" into "wot"...    
> Just remembered, there's also "hain't" thing. Short for "have not" or "has not".

 I've never seen hain't before. 
One of the most horrible corruptions of English is the Pussycat Dolls song title "Stickwitu". I want to murder the person who thought of it for disrespecting Mohammed... I mean the English language.

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## DDT

> I thought that if you suck smth, you make it worse, screw it up, spoil it. is it right?  
> "because of sucking the project" -> "because of spoiling the project" ???

 You can say, "you suck" or "the project sucks" but 
"you are sucking the project" does not work, although I can guess what you mean. However you can say "you have blown the project"

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## Бармалей

> Originally Posted by Chuvak  I thought that if you suck smth, you make it worse, screw it up, spoil it. is it right?  
> "because of sucking the project" -> "because of spoiling the project" ???    You can say, "you suck" or "the project sucks" but 
> "you are sucking the project" does not work, although I can guess what you mean. However you can say "you have blown the project"

 Or you can say "you screwed/f*cked up the project" or "this project is FUBAR." Those are more harsh variants, however.

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## BlackMage

> there ain't no words I ain't gonna use!!!   (is it a right sentence?)

 (Yes )  ::

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## BlackMage

Bear in mind that "ain't" is the contraction of "am not".  Therefore the only _remotely_ correct usage is "I ain't _______."  However, this has almost entirely fallen out of use in favor of "I'm not ________."

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## kalinka_vinnie

> I thought that if you suck smth, you make it worse, screw it up, spoil it. is it right?  
> "because of sucking the project" -> "because of spoiling the project" ???

 ROFL!!!   ::   ::   ::   
Yes! Yes! Yes! There is a special situation you can use that very sentence! Imagine this: You work in a laboratory and your colleauge is working on some microbe project. You are bored and pretend to impersonate a vaccum-cleaner, so you start sucking dust off the furniture. Then you accidently suck your colleauges microbes and his whole project is gone! You would be fired with the text: "because of sucking the project"   ::   
What you were thinking of, was to suck AT the project (why didn't anyone mention this before?). Not necessarily that you spoil it, but you are no good whatsoever at it.   ::

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## Kimberloo

Once when I worked at the Boys' and Girls' Club as a lifeguard, a little girl was talking to me, and said something like "I ain't gonna do my homework tonight." 
So I corrected her and said "you mean you AREN'T going to do your homework tonight?" 
And she said, "Oh yeah! I _aren't_ going to do my homework tonight." 
Just a little anecdote...  ::

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## Mockingbirdflyaway

Today, I tried to teach a few the grade 7 students in the class where I'm a student teacher how to say "Priviet". Most of them got it on the first try, but one of the newly arrived ESL students gave me a strange look and went "Privates?!" with a trilled 'r'.  
They all loved that, of course.  
Now they greet me with "Prrrrivates!" whenever they see me.   _.....Good god, what have I done?_   ::

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## BlackMage

> Today, I tried to teach a few the grade 7 students in the class where I'm a student teacher how to say "Priviet". Most of them got it on the first try, but one of the newly arrived ESL students gave me a strange look and went "Privates?!" with a trilled 'r'.  
> They all loved that, of course.  
> Now they greet me with "Prrrrivates!" whenever they see me.   _.....Good god, what have I done?_

 Now you must teach them goodbye.  Тестиклз!

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## Chuvak

> Today, I tried to teach a few the grade 7 students in the class where I'm a student teacher how to say "Priviet". Most of them got it on the first try, but one of the newly arrived ESL students gave me a strange look and went "Privates?!" with a trilled 'r'.  
> They all loved that, of course.  
> Now they greet me with "Prrrrivates!" whenever they see me.   _.....Good god, what have I done?_

 В этом случае стоит их научить говорить "Здгавствуйте". Уж это слово так не переврешь!!!   ::

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## capecoddah

Saying ain't would result in a swift beating from my mother the English teacher.  "hain't" is ain't with an accent. 
Ataklena, "smth" is something I see from Russian speaking chatters. It annoys me to no end. Can U C wot I mn? 
In short, learning English from the collected works of Mark Twain IS NOT a good idea. (ain't no good idea)

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## Chuvak

> Saying ain't would result in a swift beating from my mother the English teacher.  "hain't" is ain't with an accent. 
> Ataklena, "smth" is something I see from Russian speaking chatters. It annoys me to no end. Can U C wot I mn? 
> In short, learning English from the collected works of Mark Twain IS NOT a good idea. (ain't no good idea)

 I remember an funny story about "ain't" (I could make some grammar mistakes, so, if you see any mistakes, you may corect them   ::  ) 
A girl tell her female friend:
--Look, I ain't going to the party no-night, I'm having a headache.
--I see,  but don't you remember what our English teacher told us? You should avoid using "ain't" You should say "I'm not going to the patry, He's not going to the patry they're not going to the patry". You got it?
--Ok, I did, but If no one is going to the party, what is the party for?

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## Ataklena

> Ataklena, "smth" is something I see from Russian speaking chatters. It annoys me to no end. Can U C wot I mn?

 It's not me!!  ::   It's Chuvak who used it!  ::  
But I think I know the reason for using "smth" - it's one of the most popular words in any English-Russian dictionary  ::    

> In short, learning English from the collected works of Mark Twain IS NOT a good idea. (ain't no good idea)

 (Sigh...)

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## basurero

> I remember *a* funny story about "ain't" (I could make some grammar mistakes, so, if you see any mistakes, you may *correct* them   ) 
> A girl tell*s* her female friend:
> --Look, I ain't going to the party *to*night, I *have* a headache.
> --I see,  but don't you remember what our English teacher told us? You should avoid using "ain't" You should say "I'm not going to the pa*rt*y _(typo probably)_, He's not going to the pa*rt*y they're not going to the patry". You got it?
> --Ok, *I do/I get it*, but If no one is going to the party, what is the party for?

   ::

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## Chuvak

thank you   :: 
But the phrase "I don't appreciate it if you will correct my Russian" seems a little erroneous to me. Maybe, It should be "I won't appreciate it if you correct my Russian'???   ::   ::

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## Layne

That still sounds a little strange. I would say: "I don't appreciate you correcting my russian".

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## Бармалей

> Saying ain't would result in a swift beating from my mother the English teacher.  "hain't" is ain't with an accent. 
> Ataklena, "smth" is something I see from Russian speaking chatters. It annoys me to no end. Can U C wot I mn? 
> In short, learning English from the collected works of Mark Twain IS NOT a good idea. (ain't no good idea)

 Smth is a term they use in dictionaries to demonstrate proper grammatical usage. I think it's good enough for them to use as well...  ::

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## capecoddah

Barm', pronounce 'smth' out loud to people who use it, they usually stop. Just dont try to do it when you have a cold and a moustache, you'll have to wash your face.  ::   
Ataklena, I know, bummer. I love Twain and have all his works, including a couple first printings. I've been to his boyhood home in Hannibal, MO and his adult home in Hartford, Connecticut. You might like these links:  http://www.marktwainhouse.org/   http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/

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## Бармалей

> Barm', pronounce 'smth' out loud to people who use it, they usually stop. Just dont try to do it when you have a cold and a moustache, you'll have to wash your face.

 Pssh. You just wish you knew how to spell my name in short-form: Brml.

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## Ataklena

*capecoddah*, thanks for the links! The sites are really interesting. 
Brml, smth -- looks like something written in hebrew   ::

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## basurero

> *cpcddh*, *thnks fr th lnks! Th sts r rlly ntrstng. 
> Brml, smth -- lks lke smthng wrttn in hbrw*

 Так лучше!  ::   
Глсные не нужны. Они загрязняют язык.

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## Chuvak

> Originally Posted by Atkln  *cpcddh*, *thnks fr th lnks! Th sts r rlly ntrstng. 
> Brml, smth -- lks lke smthng wrttn in hbrw*    Так лучше!   
> Глсные не нужны. Они загрязняют язык.

 Я думаю, что и согласные тоже не нужны!!! Действительно, зачем загрязнять язык какими-то там буквами!!  ::

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## Dimitri

В иврите кстати нету гласных   ::

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## Rtyom

Если вы имеете в виду буквы, то гласных букв не бывает. Только звуки. В иврите гласные звуки есть, но отображаются в специфических случаях, и то не буквенно.

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## Friendy

> Barm', pronounce 'smth' out loud to people who use it, they usually stop. Just dont try to do it when you have a cold and a moustache, you'll have to wash your face.

 Hmm ... When I see "smth" I pronounce it as a normal "something". Do native speakers really tend to pronounce it exactly as it is written? I think the point is to write less and since pronouncing the full word is easier to pronounce "something" while spelling "smth" is a reasonable approach.

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## Layne

Correct. No one would ever try to say a word without vowels.

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## kalinka_vinnie

In dictionaries they use smth insetad of "something", because they save hundreds of pages that way.

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## Ataklena

OK, but nobody has answered yet about "wanna". Is it the same case as здрасьте "zdras'te" in Russian -- everybody says it but nobody writes it?

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## Dimitri

> OK, but nobody has answered yet about "wanna". Is it the same case as здрасьте "zdras'te" in Russian -- everybody says it but nobody writes it?

 wanna - это "хочу", по-моему

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## TATY

> Originally Posted by Ataklena  OK, but nobody has answered yet about "wanna". Is it the same case as здрасьте "zdras'te" in Russian -- everybody says it but nobody writes it?   wanna - это "хочу", по-моему

 She wasn't saying wanna means здрасьте. 
People do write "wanna" and "gonna". But it is informal and isn't used in proper writing. I use them in e-mails to friends and stuff.

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## Ataklena

*TATY*, thank you!
And what if a foreigner says "wanna"? Is it acceptable?

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## Бармалей

> *TATY*, thank you!
> And what if a foreigner says "wanna"? Is it acceptable?

 It's just the mumbled, smashed together phrase "want to?" So I would imagine so, just don't write it down for something. Example:
-Whaddya you doing tonight?
-Oh, nothing.
-Wanna see a movie?
-Ok, sure!
-Wanna invite Susan and Phil, too? Or should we go alone?
-That's fine. I'll call them later.

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## Ataklena

Thanks, *Barmaley*! Now I get it.

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## jimita

> OK, thanks.
> Does it sound uneducated when it's used in songs?

 I agree with KWatts that although not rude per se, it does sound uneducated in general conversation. However, context is everything. In some kinds of songs, particularly blues, rock, country and folk music, "ain't" would reflect a culture that valued other things more highly than "correct" English usage. In this setting the usage is appropriate. 
But a blues song isn't the same thing as conversing with an elder.  
~j~

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## Riko

> By the way, what about "wanna" and "..don't.. no more"?

 wanna is Want to said fast, like barmaley said. 
''...don't... no more'' isn't proper english.  *A few* African-American people use that here in America to act 'gangster'    

> I remember an funny story about "ain't" (I could make some grammar mistakes, so, if you see any mistakes, you may corect them  )  
> A girl tell her female friend: 
> --Look, I ain't going to the party no-night, I'm having a headache. 
> --I see, but don't you remember what our English teacher told us? You should avoid using "ain't" You should say "I'm not going to the patry, He's not going to the patry they're not going to the patry". You got it? 
> --Ok, I did, but If no one is going to the party, what is the party for?

 no-night? I think you mean ' tonight '  ::  
I don't use the word 'ain't'. Rednecks here use it a lot, along with "...don't...no more"

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## Бармалей

> ''...don't... no more'' isn't proper english.  *A few* African-American people use that here in America to act 'gangster'

 I think you mean "gangsta."   ::     

> I don't use the word 'ain't' to me, rednecks here use it a lot, along with "...don't...no more"

 I don't understand the first part of that sentence. Are you sure you ain't no redneck?   ::   
Someone should post some Jeff Foxworthy stuff here; it would be really great for Russian and English-speakers alike...

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## Riko

> Originally Posted by Riko  ''...don't... no more'' isn't proper english.  *A few* African-American people use that here in America to act 'gangster'   I think you mean "gangsta."        
> 			
> 				I don't use the word 'ain't' to me, rednecks here use it a lot, along with "...don't...no more"
> 			
> 		  I don't understand the first part of that sentence. Are you sure you ain't no redneck?    
> Someone should post some Jeff Foxworthy stuff here; it would be really great for Russian and English-speakers alike...

 yes, I mean 'gangsta'  ::   
I meant that I don't use 'ain't' I just didn't put a period behind ain't. But I must be drunk. Why the hell did I put 'to me'?  ::  
I can't be a redneck. Who heard of a French redneck?  ::

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## Бармалей

> I can't be a redneck. Who heard of a French redneck?

 At one point there were neither French Canadians nor French fries -- but they persevered and solved those problems! You can do it!

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## Riko

> Originally Posted by Riko  I can't be a redneck. Who heard of a French redneck?    At one point there were neither French Canadians nor French fries -- but they persevered and solved those problems! You can do it!

 haha  ::

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## BlackMage

> At one point there were neither French Canadians nor French fries -- but they persevered and solved those problems! You can do it!

 Now there are Free Canadians and Freedom Fries.

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## capecoddah

I thought a French-Canadian-Louisiana-redneck was Cajun...
Movie reference: Southern Comfort, 1981 
"wanna-be gangsta" = white kids from the suburbs that listen to rap, talk 'bout dey hommies an' chizzillin wit a fo-tie. They also are sweating their SATs, drive a car that was a gift from Mommy and/or Daddy and look as foolish as Wanna-be greasers, hippies, disco-types, punks and goth kids in earlier times.
Music reference: "White Punks on Dope", the Tubes

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## capecoddah

Here is MY question:
is there a Russian equivalent to "Ain't" ?

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## Бармалей

> Here is MY question:
> is there a Russian equivalent to "Ain't" ?

 Yes, нен'т...  ::

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## BlackMage

> Here is MY question:
> is there a Russian equivalent to "Ain't" ?

 Since there ain't a Russian equivalent of 'to be' I'm gonna go with no.

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## kalinka_vinnie

I think it depends on context. If you want to translate: 
"Ain't there a way out?"
I would use нету "нету выхода?"
but that wouldn't work in other sentences like "I ain't going anywhere"

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## capecoddah

> Originally Posted by capecoddah  Here is MY question:
> is there a Russian equivalent to "Ain't" ?   Since there ain't a Russian equivalent of 'to be' I'm gonna go with no.

 The lack of "to be" is KILLIN' me !!!! 
School yard rhyme:
Don't say Ain't
or your mother will faint.
your father will fall in a bucket of paint.
Your brother will die.
Your sister will cry,
and the dog will say "Oh My!"

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