GIVE ANSWERS - English

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Is the sentence "Aren't I a bit long in the tooth to start being an undergraduate?' correct? If it is, then why do we use 'are' with 'I'? And when we use tag questions, is it 'aren't I' or 'am I not'?

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exRanger profile picture exRangerJanuary 2019
Better:
Am I not a bit "long in the tooth" to be starting an undergraduate level education?"

We don't use "are" w/ "I", which is precisely why I amended your original sentence to start with "Am I not a....".
re: "tag questions": "am I not" is correct. "Aren't I...", while in poular use in vernacular (American and UK) English, is grammatically incorrect. Butthat doesn't stop most Americans (and British) so-called "native English" users/speakers from misusing their language.
Cold, harsh reality my English-as-a-second-language learnng friends: be careful in the so-called "native English" users/speakers you from whom you choose to "learn" our language.
Weylin profile picture WeylinOctober 2019
"Aren't I" is commonly used and very acceptable in informal language, but in formal letters and academic papers you should use "Am I not".