"I'm done my homework"

andre in usa   Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:05 am GMT
How many of you use this grammatical construction -- "I'm done my homework." It is used by virtually everyone in the Philadelphia region, where I'm from, and I had never thought anything of it until a couple months ago when it was pointed out to me that it's not used here in Pittsburgh, where I attend school. Quite a surprise to me.
Guest   Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:31 am GMT
It looks like a contraction of "I'm done with my homework" and a mix-up with "I've done my homework".
Terry   Sun Dec 11, 2005 1:54 pm GMT
<<How many of you use this grammatical construction -- "I'm done my homework." It is used by virtually everyone in the Philadelphia region,>>

I've never used it or heard it. "I've finished my homework" is the way I'd say it.
Ed   Sun Dec 11, 2005 5:43 pm GMT
Sound's wrong to me.
Lazar   Sun Dec 11, 2005 6:23 pm GMT
No, I would never say, "I'm done my homework". But I could say:

"I'm done with my homework."
or
"I've done my homework."
or
"I've finished my homework."
Miguel   Mon Dec 12, 2005 8:53 pm GMT
Have you finished? yes, I´m done. It´s means that you have finished what you were doing.
Boy   Tue Dec 13, 2005 5:23 pm GMT
If I'm not wrong, "Present Perfect" and "Past Tense" express the same meaning in American English. So you could also say:


I did my homework.

or

I finished my homework.
Paul   Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:59 pm GMT
It's not gramatically correct to say "I'm done my homework", I'd say:

-I'm done WITH my homework
-I'VE done my homework
- I DID my homework
US guest   Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:01 pm GMT
<<"Present Perfect" and "Past Tense" express the same meaning in American English>>

So that means that there's no difference between:

1) They've been here for two weeks

-and-

2) They were here for two weeks

in the US?
andre in usa   Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:55 am GMT
Yes, I know about the other ways of expressing this phrase (the grammatically correct ways). They sound verbose and unnecessary to me because I grew up using the "I'm done my..." construction as did my friends and everyone else in my community.
Guest   Wed Dec 14, 2005 1:01 am GMT
>>So that means that there's no difference between:

1) They've been here for two weeks

-and-

2) They were here for two weeks

in the US? <<

I doubt it. I'm sure they would interpret it as...

1) They've been here for two weeks = Up to this point in time, two weeks have passed and they are still here.

2) They were here for two weeks = At some point in the past, they had stayed here for a duration of two weeks.
JJM   Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:18 am GMT
The verbal construction "I'm done" is as old as beans. Despite much pedantry from the experts, "I'm done my homework" is fine, though it may well be regional in nature as an expression.
Brennus   Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:10 am GMT
My hunch is the same as Guest's who wrote "It looks like a contraction of "I'm done with my homework" and a mix-up with "I've done my homework".

It is hard to tell however if this is an example of imperfectly learned English in a ghetto environment or whether it was largely artificially perpetrated by a few people trying to be humorous.
Boy   Wed Dec 14, 2005 7:29 pm GMT
To Guest,


Please tell me if there is any difference between these two sentences.

Just imagine, I am right now in my friend's house and have had this below conversation a while ago.


B1: Where have you been, B2?
B2: I have been to NewYork.


B1: Where were you, B2?
B2: I was in NewYork.



Thanks.
Ben   Wed Dec 14, 2005 7:57 pm GMT
Yes.

The first conversation uses the present perfect, and the second uses the simple past. In the first conversation, the notion that you have been to New York recently is implied, whereas in the second conversation it is impossible to tell when you went to New York.