Question
Updated on
3 Aug 2016
- Japanese
-
English (US)
-
Korean
-
English (UK)
Question about English (US)
Would you teach me how to understand colloquial expressions ?
The sentence below is quoted from 'Of Mice and Men', given by Lennie, who is not so smart.
"Ain't nobody goin' to suppose no hurt to George."
"Ain't nobody goin' to talk no hurt to George."
As for the first words, I wonder if we can rewrite them like : "Nobody is going to suppose that there is (no) hurt to George."
Also, as for the second words, like : "Nobody is going to talk (no) hurt to George."
Both the sentences mean that Lennie has a strong will not to let anyone suppose/talk hurt to George, right ?
If it's right, why is the word 'ain't' at the top of the sentence ?
I think it's a question form.
Or, my rewritten version is wrong?
Would you help me ?
Would you teach me how to understand colloquial expressions ?
The sentence below is quoted from 'Of Mice and Men', given by Lennie, who is not so smart.
"Ain't nobody goin' to suppose no hurt to George."
"Ain't nobody goin' to talk no hurt to George."
As for the first words, I wonder if we can rewrite them like : "Nobody is going to suppose that there is (no) hurt to George."
Also, as for the second words, like : "Nobody is going to talk (no) hurt to George."
Both the sentences mean that Lennie has a strong will not to let anyone suppose/talk hurt to George, right ?
If it's right, why is the word 'ain't' at the top of the sentence ?
I think it's a question form.
Or, my rewritten version is wrong?
Would you help me ?
The sentence below is quoted from 'Of Mice and Men', given by Lennie, who is not so smart.
"Ain't nobody goin' to suppose no hurt to George."
"Ain't nobody goin' to talk no hurt to George."
As for the first words, I wonder if we can rewrite them like : "Nobody is going to suppose that there is (no) hurt to George."
Also, as for the second words, like : "Nobody is going to talk (no) hurt to George."
Both the sentences mean that Lennie has a strong will not to let anyone suppose/talk hurt to George, right ?
If it's right, why is the word 'ain't' at the top of the sentence ?
I think it's a question form.
Or, my rewritten version is wrong?
Would you help me ?
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3 Aug 2016
Featured answer
- English (US)
@popcha:
"ain't" is a negative word, and that means that it is in the "no" family....
It is at the top of the sentences emphasizing that NO one should hurt George!
But it is very grammatically incorrect!
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- Portuguese (Brazil)
- Portuguese (Portugal)
I Am not = I ain't
You are not = you ain't
He is not = he ain't
she is not = she ain't
it is not = it ain't
we are not = we ain't
they are not = they ain't
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- English (US)
I think it goes like this. there is not -> there isn't -> there ain't -> ain't. it just gets shorter and shorter until all you have is simple "ain't"
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- Japanese
@blackfox343 Thank you for your reply
Do you mean that if the sentences are rewritten, they go like these?
"There is (not) nobody who is going to suppose that there is (no) hurt to George."
"There is (not) nobody who is going to talk (no) hurt to George."
Right ?
Do you mean that if the sentences are rewritten, they go like these?
"There is (not) nobody who is going to suppose that there is (no) hurt to George."
"There is (not) nobody who is going to talk (no) hurt to George."
Right ?
- English (US)
it's a bit hard to say because the way they talk in that book is really weird a very grammatically incorrect, so you would probably have to just change the entire sentence
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- Japanese
@blackfox343
I see.
Do you mean English native speakers also guess the meaning, when the sentences are grammatically incorrect ?
Maybe we Japanese people do the same thing, too. I can't find good examples, though.
According to your sense, which one would be closer/familiar ?
"There is (not) nobody who is going to suppose that there is (no) hurt to George."
or
"Nobody is going to suppose that there is (no) hurt to George."
Thank you for your time.
I see.
Do you mean English native speakers also guess the meaning, when the sentences are grammatically incorrect ?
Maybe we Japanese people do the same thing, too. I can't find good examples, though.
According to your sense, which one would be closer/familiar ?
"There is (not) nobody who is going to suppose that there is (no) hurt to George."
or
"Nobody is going to suppose that there is (no) hurt to George."
Thank you for your time.
- English (US)
mhm, that's exactly what we do hah. the problem is neither of those sentences really make much sense. are you trying to rewrite the sentences from the book in a way that makes sense?
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- English (US)
If you were to rewrite these sentences to make them correct, they could be:
"Nobody is supposed to hurt George."
And
"Nobody is supposed to talk hurt to George."
Technically, "talk hurt" is not correct, but it is easy to understand. If we were to actually say this in every day life, we would say something like
"say hurtful things."
So, it would be,
"nobody is supposed to say hurtful things to George."
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- Japanese
- Japanese
@Millyyllim Thank you for your reply.
I could understand the meaning and feel the nuance through your rewritten sentences.
I really appreciate !
I could understand the meaning and feel the nuance through your rewritten sentences.
I really appreciate !
- Japanese
@Millyyllim
By the way, would you tell me why the word 'ain't' is at the top of the sentence ?
Is it some kind of technique for emphasis ?
By the way, would you tell me why the word 'ain't' is at the top of the sentence ?
Is it some kind of technique for emphasis ?
- English (US)
@popcha:
"ain't" is a negative word, and that means that it is in the "no" family....
It is at the top of the sentences emphasizing that NO one should hurt George!
But it is very grammatically incorrect!
Was this answer helpful?
- Japanese
- Japanese
I really appreciate all the teachers here !
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
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