"Aren't I tall?"

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Miss. Ladybird
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"Aren't I tall?"

Post by Miss. Ladybird »

A friend asked me this question: Although the pronoun "I" always comes with "am",Why is it-in grammar-correct to say "Aren't I" in the question:
"Aren't I tall?"
Help please………….. :?
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RedRose

Post by RedRose »

I thought it should be "amn't I tall?"
vince90
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Post by vince90 »

I am not quite sure what your question is. However the pronoun “I” is not always comes with “am”. It only happens when you use this with to be verb.

Examples:
1. I’m tall aren’t I? - Using “to be verb”.
2. I do know this lady. - Using “to do verb”
3. I know this lady. - Using “regular verb”
3. I am not a lazy person. – Using “to be verb”

Hope this will help.
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idalia
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Post by idalia »

RedRose wrote:I thought it should be "amn't I tall?"
Red,I'm not really sure that "amn't" exists. "am not" or I've seen this as a negative expression "ain't" but maybe some other members could help us.

;) ;) ;)
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Miss. Ladybird
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Post by Miss. Ladybird »

vince90 wrote:I am not quite sure what your question is. However the pronoun “I” is not always comes with “am”. It only happens when you use this with to be verb.

Examples:
1. I’m tall aren’t I? - Using “to be verb”.

Hope this will help.
Thank you for your reply.
but my question was: why do we use "are" with the pronoun"I" in the question here. why don't we use "am"? :?
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Dixie
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Post by Dixie »

Am I not tall? :roll:

Although the contracted form does not exist :!:
shokin
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Post by shokin »

No you aren't tall ? :mrgreen:

Aren't I right ?

Shokin
Nous sommes libres. Wir sind frei. We are free. Somos libres. Siamo liberi.
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Joe
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Post by Joe »

"Aren't I tall?" is normal English.

In questions, am not is often contracted to aren't, for example: I'm late, aren't I?

It seems strange, but it's perfectly acceptable:
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/c ... gative.htm

The uncontracted "Am I not tall?" is of course correct but extremely formal.

"Amn't I" is also heard in some dialects of English.
Last edited by Joe on Wed Apr 20, 2005 1:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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