I am puzzled with the use of ain't. I know its meaning, and also know it is pretty informal. But I see it used in several ways, some I think of as conflicting.
See the following examples
I ain't an idiot
expands to
I am not an idiot
Which, in my understanding means "Well, I am declaring myself not an idiot"
It just ain't done good
expands to
It just is not done good
Which, in my understanding means "An action didn't generate good results"
But I ain't marchin' anymore
expands to
But I am not marching anymore
Which, in my understanding means "I am saying, that I will stop marching"
Hey, ain't gonna cry no more today
expands to
Hey, I am not going to cry no more today
This one is a bit weird, but in my understanding means "I am declaring my intentions of crying no more than I already did, today"
I ain't no quitter
expands to
I am not no quitter
Which, in my understanding means that "I am a quitter", since the first negation negates the second…
I really think it means "I am no quitter", but then "ain't" doesn't abbreviate the length of "am", so I don't get the usage of "ain't", or perhaps this phrase ain't a good example, even for an informal contraction like ain't.
Is it correct to use ain't followed by a no? Does the "no" lose its negation?
I really hope I ain't that confused by the answers…
Best Answer
First of all, let's be clear that ain't is not commonly used in proper and correct speech. It is a word, it is technically correct, and it does take the meaning of "[to be] not", as you have surmised. However it is most often used in uneducated speech, so you must be sure to take everything with a grain of salt when you see it used. I certainly wouldn't suggest you begin using it in formal contexts.
Let's begin with your first assertion:
Ain't does indeed expand to am not here, but it certainly doesn't mean that the person thinks they are an idiot. They are quite clearly saying that they are not an idiot (probably in response to someone who has said they are one). I am not [x] is always a claim that a person is not something.
Now we return to my original point that ain't is often used in uneducated speech. The formal way to say this would be "It just is not done well." This means that [x] action (or the result of said action) has not been performed properly. For example, a teacher could be looking at a student's painting in an art class, and comment that the painting was not done (ie. not painted) well. But ain't doesn't expand to have not here, as you suggest; it expands to is not (simply another form of [to be] not).
Your expansion to am not is correct, and you've almost got the interpretation down; what this means is I am no longer marching. I have not been marching for some period time up until this point, and I will continue not to march. The distinction from your interpretation is that they are not saying "I will stop marching from this point forward." They have already stopped marching.
Again we return to the issue of uneducated speech; the ain't is actually completely straightforward in this example, it does indeed expand to am not. However you have a different problem which is displayed in uneducated speech; that of the word no used when it ought to be any. This could have been correctly written I ain't going to cry any more today (expanding to I am not going to cry any more today). This means that at some point today they have cried a certain amount, and intend to not cry again for the rest of the day. They will not cry any more (or any longer).
This example has the same problem as the last one; the ain't is straight forward but the no is incorrect. It should read I ain't a quitter (expanded to I am not a quitter). Which, similar to your first example where the person professes to not be an idiot, means that the person denies any accusation that they might be a quitter.
So, overall, be careful with ain't. You've got a good handle on the expansion overall, but you have to watch out for the extra no/not negations you might find. Use context to help you as much as possible; rarely would someone claim to be a quitter or an idiot, so your best guess should be that it means the opposite :)