# Contraction question: "You aren't" or "You're not" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 30, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329 "2012-09-30T19:18:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hero_From_Sector_7G)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/1 "2012-09-30T19:18:35Z")
How does one contract the following phrase: “You are not” Is there a difference between “You aren’t” and “You’re not” ? And since it’ll come up with some of the SD chuckleheads, why not “Y’aren’t”? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/2 "2012-09-30T19:21:34Z")
Both of the first two are correct; you can choose which you use based on personal preference. We don’t use the third (y’aren’t) because we don’t. English didn’t happen to develop that word, that’s all. A lot of language development is down to chance. ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/3 "2012-09-30T19:31:08Z")
When speaking, I tend to prefer not contracting the “not” – e.g., “I’ve not” rather than “I haven’t” – because I think it’s less likely to be misheard. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/4 "2012-09-30T20:34:08Z")
Either contraction is correct, but to use the non-contracted “You are not” seems more emphatic. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/5 "2012-09-30T21:06:56Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > We don’t use the third (y’aren’t) because we don’t. English didn’t happen to develop that word, that’s all. A lot of language development is down to chance. Actually, that word _y’aren’t_ definitely does exist, and is reasonably common in the South. It would usually be used for the second-person plural, as with ya’ll. Though you can use it with singular plural. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/6 "2012-09-30T21:37:45Z")
How about y’ain’t? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/7 "2012-09-30T21:43:27Z")
Y’isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/8 "2012-09-30T21:46:27Z")
Wouldn’t the standard form of the double contraction be “you’ren’t”? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/9 "2012-09-30T22:02:25Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > How about y’ain’t? This works very well; it is never mistaken for its opposite, “yer.” ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/10 "2012-10-01T00:14:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wouldn’t the standard form of the double contraction be “you’ren’t”? Don’t Central Asian nomads live in you’ren’ts? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/11 "2012-10-01T01:44:31Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Actually, that word _y’aren’t_ definitely does exist, and is reasonably common in the South. It would usually be used for the second-person plural, as with ya’ll. Though you can use it with singular plural. Nitpick: “Y’all,” not “ya’ll.” ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/12 "2012-10-01T02:04:46Z")
The plural of y’all is “all y’all.” I think we should contract it is and is not into it’sn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/13 "2012-10-01T03:09:27Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > A lot of language development is down to chance. No it’s not, a lot of language development has to do with things like phonetics and other things that it is possible to theorize about. This is what linguists do. I’m not sure why you would say that a lot of it is chance, because that’s clearly false. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/14 "2012-10-01T03:20:57Z")
It’s a question of emphasis. The non-contracted word gets more stress and is more important. But either is grammatically fine. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/15 "2012-10-01T03:28:31Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Actually, that word _y’aren’t_ definitely does exist, and is reasonably common in the South. It would usually be used for the second-person plural, as with ya’ll. Though you can use it with singular plural. I have spent years in both VA and NC, weeks in GA and FL and about a week in SC. I have never once heard _y’aren’t,_ and I surely would have if it was at all common in the Atlantic coast states. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/16 "2012-10-01T04:28:54Z")
There was a thread not long ago about the difference between “it’s not” and “it isn’t”. Can someone find that thread and link to it? I can’t find it, possibly because of the difficulty in searching for short words. We say the same thing about the differences in those words. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/17 "2012-10-01T07:10:42Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > No it’s not, a lot of language development has to do with things like phonetics and other things that it is possible to theorize about. This is what linguists do. I’m not sure why you would say that a lot of it is chance, because that’s clearly false. Why isn’t Germany speaking a Romance language? War never changes, and randomness is always a factor in war. Had a pincer maneuver not worked, who knows. For the want of a nail after all. The theories you talk about have their place after the stage has been set, but how does the stage get set in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/18 "2012-10-01T07:40:19Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > There was a thread not long ago about the difference between “it’s not” and “it isn’t”. Can someone find that thread and link to it? I can’t find it, possibly because of the difficulty in searching for short words. We say the same thing about the differences in those words. > **[It's not/it isn't](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=664905)** > > I hijacked another thread to ask about this, so thought I’d ask again properly. Are these two interchangable? Are there different rules for each? Examples would be helpful too! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/19 "2012-10-02T21:17:12Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > It’s a question of emphasis. The non-contracted word gets more stress and is more important. But either is grammatically fine. This is the main difference in practice. Think of the difference if your mother says: _“You aren’t allowed to use that word in this house!”_ or is she says: _“You are not allowed to use that word in this house!”_ Even as a little child, I could tell the difference in emphasis there! ---
**Author:** ![HnB\_ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/47e85d/32.png) [@HnB\_ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HnB_ed)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329/20 "2012-12-22T10:38:02Z")
I’ve recently read that “YOU’VE NOT” as in “You’ve not done your homework” is the preferred construction in the UK whereas “YOU HAVEN’T” as in “you haven’t done your assignment” is chiefly American. Does the same apply to “YOU’RE NOT” and “YOU AREN’T”, the former being more widespread in the UK and the latter being the preferred construction in the US? Please comment. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contraction-question-you-arent-or-youre-not/636329.md?page=2)