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How dissimilar are "they're not" and "they aren't"?
Is it dependent on context or are these exactly the same?

They are supposed to be going, but they are not.
They are not going.

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1 Answer

up vote 5 down vote accepted

These are pretty much equivalent. If you desire to place more emphasis on the negative, use "They're not."

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2  
I think the difference is more a verbal tic than anything else. When I speak I usually contract the first two words (They're not vs. they aren't, it's not vs. it isn't) etc. When writing I do the opposite. – Yitzchak Mar 2 '11 at 18:42

protected by Clark Kent May 20 '12 at 8:48

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