# "He don't", aristocratic usage?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 22, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130 "2011-09-22T00:15:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130/1 "2011-09-22T00:15:01Z")
In _The Pallisers_ tv series by BBC in the 1970’s, the aristos say “He Don’t” or “She don’t do such things” instead of the modern “Doesn’t”
It takes place in the Victorian period I believe.
Was this aristocratic only use? Or everybody?
I might start doing it myself, if it makes me sound like Planty Pal.
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### Author:  [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130/2 "2011-09-22T02:48:07Z")
Yup, “don’t” was originally a contraction for “does not” as well as “do not”. “He don’t” sounds informal or “uneducated” to us now, but it used to be acceptable upper-class grammar.
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### Author:  [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130/3 "2011-09-22T03:04:47Z")
Lord Peter Wimsey used it, that’s good enough for me. (In, say, the 1920s.)
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2011, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130/4 "2011-09-22T12:42:33Z")
> [@Kimstu](#):
>
> Yup, “don’t” was originally a contraction for “does not” as well as “do not”. “He don’t” sounds informal or “uneducated” to us now, but it used to be acceptable upper-class grammar.
How does the idea that contractions themselves are informal tie in with that?
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### Author:  [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2011, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130/5 "2011-09-22T12:50:41Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> How does the idea that contractions themselves are informal tie in with that?
Probably because they’re considered “informal” only in writing. Even the most formal speech often uses contractions.
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### Author:  [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130/6 "2011-09-22T14:03:10Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#):
>
> In _The Pallisers_ tv series by BBC in the 1970’s, the aristos say “He Don’t” or “She don’t do such things” instead of the modern “Doesn’t”
>
> It takes place in the Victorian period I believe.
>
> Was this aristocratic only use? Or everybody?
>
> I might start doing it myself, if it makes me sound like Planty Pal.
It was quite common for the upper classes to use, slangy, vernacular speech in informal conversations, especially with close relatives.
Basically if you come from an established artistoicrtaic family and have the benefit of a (major) public school education then no-one’s going to question your breeding or education if you use words like ‘ain’t’, despite it’s lower class association.
I haven’t read the books or seen the TV series, but I would take the use to indcate that the speaker was close to the person they were speaking to and of perhaps of a slightly playful nature.
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### Author:  [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130/7 "2011-09-22T14:06:19Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#):
>
> In _The Pallisers_ tv series by BBC in the 1970’s, the aristos say “He Don’t” or “She don’t do such things” instead of the modern “Doesn’t”
There’s nothing “modern” about using “doesn’t” instead of “don’t” in this case. Both forms have been used in the past, and continue to be used in the present. Which form you use depends on the grammar rules of your dialect.
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130/8 "2011-09-22T14:11:43Z")
I think Jessica Mitford’s books go into detail on how truly upper class people feel free to use nonstandard forms, like “don’t” and “ain’t” and “huntin’, shootin’, and fishin’.”
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130/9 "2011-09-22T14:43:15Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> I think Jessica Mitford’s books go into detail on how truly upper class people feel free to use nonstandard forms, like “don’t” and “ain’t” and “huntin’, shootin’, and fishin’.”
The Mitford involved was Nancy rather than Jessica. She’s the one who popularized the findings of Alan Ross, who coined the terms [U and non-U](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_and_non-U_English) to describe the differences between Upper class speech and speech of the “commoners.”
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-dont-aristocratic-usage/597130/10 "2011-09-22T14:59:02Z")
Ah right Nancy Mitford. Don’t know why I said Jessica.