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English for Tourism & Hospitality (102) by Prof. Adel AlSheikh

Everyday English expressions you (probably) never learned in school

AIN’T

Ah, ain‟t! Laetitia was right, you‟ll hear “ain‟t” a lot, even if it‟s not correct
English. What does it mean? Am not, or Is not, or are not, or have not. Depends
on the context.

For example, you might hear “I ain’t feeling too well” to mean I‟m not feeling
too well. Or “He ain’t coming with us” to mean “He‟s not coming with us.”
Or “They ain’t in stock” for “They‟re not in stock”, or “I ain’t never been to
Las Vegas” to mean “I have never been to Las Vegas.”

Or, as my teachers used to say “Ain‟t ain‟t in the dictionary.” which means the
word “ain‟t” isn‟t in the dictionary.

Technically speaking, it‟s not correct English to say “ain‟t.” But guess what, a
lot of Americans use it anyway. It‟s not bad, or insulting. It‟s just not really
correct. But spoken English isn‟t always correct school English. It‟s the way
people really speak.

I WAS LIKE…

If you‟ve ever listened to an American tell you a story, you‟ve heard “I was
like…”, it is used mostly when telling a story about something that happened,
or summarizing a discussion with someone else.
Here‟s an example:

I was talking to my mom on the phone the other day and I was like “Where do
you want to go to dinner?” And she was like “I don’t know, let me ask
your dad what he wants to do.” And I was like “OK, that sounds good.” I
could have also said “I said…” and “She said…” but many Americans often
use “I was like…”

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