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Everyone struggles with homework sometimes, but if getting your homework done has become a chronic issue for you, then you may need a little extra help. That’s why we’ve written this article all about how to do homework. Once you’re finished reading it, you’ll know how to do homework (and have tons of new ways to motivate yourself to do homework)!

We’ve broken this article down into a few major sections. You’ll find:

• A diagnostic test to help you figure out why you’re struggling with homework
• A discussion of the four major homework problems students face, along with expert tips for addressing them
• A bonus section with tips for how to do homework fast

By the end of this article, you’ll be prepared to tackle whatever homework assignments your teachers throw at you .

So let’s get started!

How to Do Homework: Figure Out Your Struggles 

Sometimes it feels like everything is standing between you and getting your homework done. But the truth is, most people only have one or two major roadblocks that are keeping them from getting their homework done well and on time. 

The best way to figure out how to get motivated to do homework starts with pinpointing the issues that are affecting your ability to get your assignments done. That’s why we’ve developed a short quiz to help you identify the areas where you’re struggling. 

Take the quiz below and record your answers on your phone or on a scrap piece of paper. Keep in mind there are no wrong answers! 

1. You’ve just been assigned an essay in your English class that’s due at the end of the week. What’s the first thing you do?

A. Keep it in mind, even though you won’t start it until the day before it’s due  B. Open up your planner. You’ve got to figure out when you’ll write your paper since you have band practice, a speech tournament, and your little sister’s dance recital this week, too.  C. Groan out loud. Another essay? You could barely get yourself to write the last one!  D. Start thinking about your essay topic, which makes you think about your art project that’s due the same day, which reminds you that your favorite artist might have just posted to Instagram...so you better check your feed right now. 

2. Your mom asked you to pick up your room before she gets home from work. You’ve just gotten home from school. You decide you’ll tackle your chores: 

A. Five minutes before your mom walks through the front door. As long as it gets done, who cares when you start?  B. As soon as you get home from your shift at the local grocery store.  C. After you give yourself a 15-minute pep talk about how you need to get to work.  D. You won’t get it done. Between texts from your friends, trying to watch your favorite Netflix show, and playing with your dog, you just lost track of time! 

3. You’ve signed up to wash dogs at the Humane Society to help earn money for your senior class trip. You: 

A. Show up ten minutes late. You put off leaving your house until the last minute, then got stuck in unexpected traffic on the way to the shelter.  B. Have to call and cancel at the last minute. You forgot you’d already agreed to babysit your cousin and bake cupcakes for tomorrow’s bake sale.  C. Actually arrive fifteen minutes early with extra brushes and bandanas you picked up at the store. You’re passionate about animals, so you’re excited to help out! D. Show up on time, but only get three dogs washed. You couldn’t help it: you just kept getting distracted by how cute they were!

4. You have an hour of downtime, so you decide you’re going to watch an episode of The Great British Baking Show. You: 

A. Scroll through your social media feeds for twenty minutes before hitting play, which means you’re not able to finish the whole episode. Ugh! You really wanted to see who was sent home!  B. Watch fifteen minutes until you remember you’re supposed to pick up your sister from band practice before heading to your part-time job. No GBBO for you!  C. You finish one episode, then decide to watch another even though you’ve got SAT studying to do. It’s just more fun to watch people make scones.  D. Start the episode, but only catch bits and pieces of it because you’re reading Twitter, cleaning out your backpack, and eating a snack at the same time.

5. Your teacher asks you to stay after class because you’ve missed turning in two homework assignments in a row. When she asks you what’s wrong, you say: 

A. You planned to do your assignments during lunch, but you ran out of time. You decided it would be better to turn in nothing at all than submit unfinished work.  B. You really wanted to get the assignments done, but between your extracurriculars, family commitments, and your part-time job, your homework fell through the cracks.  C. You have a hard time psyching yourself to tackle the assignments. You just can’t seem to find the motivation to work on them once you get home.  D. You tried to do them, but you had a hard time focusing. By the time you realized you hadn’t gotten anything done, it was already time to turn them in. 

Like we said earlier, there are no right or wrong answers to this quiz (though your results will be better if you answered as honestly as possible). Here’s how your answers break down: 

• If your answers were mostly As, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is procrastination. 
• If your answers were mostly Bs, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is time management. 
• If your answers were mostly Cs, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is motivation. 
• If your answers were mostly Ds, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is getting distracted. 

Now that you’ve identified why you’re having a hard time getting your homework done, we can help you figure out how to fix it! Scroll down to find your core problem area to learn more about how you can start to address it. 

And one more thing: you’re really struggling with homework, it’s a good idea to read through every section below. You may find some additional tips that will help make homework less intimidating. 

How to Do Homework When You’re a Procrastinator  

Merriam Webster defines “procrastinate” as “to put off intentionally and habitually.” In other words, procrastination is when you choose to do something at the last minute on a regular basis. If you’ve ever found yourself pulling an all-nighter, trying to finish an assignment between periods, or sprinting to turn in a paper minutes before a deadline, you’ve experienced the effects of procrastination. 

If you’re a chronic procrastinator, you’re in good company. In fact, one study found that 70% to 95% of undergraduate students procrastinate when it comes to doing their homework. Unfortunately, procrastination can negatively impact your grades. Researchers have found that procrastination can lower your grade on an assignment by as much as five points ...which might not sound serious until you realize that can mean the difference between a B- and a C+. 

Procrastination can also negatively affect your health by increasing your stress levels , which can lead to other health conditions like insomnia, a weakened immune system, and even heart conditions. Getting a handle on procrastination can not only improve your grades, it can make you feel better, too! 

The big thing to understand about procrastination is that it’s not the result of laziness. Laziness is defined as being “disinclined to activity or exertion.” In other words, being lazy is all about doing nothing. But a s this Psychology Today article explains , procrastinators don’t put things off because they don’t want to work. Instead, procrastinators tend to postpone tasks they don’t want to do in favor of tasks that they perceive as either more important or more fun. Put another way, procrastinators want to do things...as long as it’s not their homework! 

3 Tips f or Conquering Procrastination 

Because putting off doing homework is a common problem, there are lots of good tactics for addressing procrastination. Keep reading for our three expert tips that will get your homework habits back on track in no time. 

#1: Create a Reward System

Like we mentioned earlier, procrastination happens when you prioritize other activities over getting your homework done. Many times, this happens because homework...well, just isn’t enjoyable. But you can add some fun back into the process by rewarding yourself for getting your work done. 

Here’s what we mean: let’s say you decide that every time you get your homework done before the day it’s due, you’ll give yourself a point. For every five points you earn, you’ll treat yourself to your favorite dessert: a chocolate cupcake! Now you have an extra (delicious!) incentive to motivate you to leave procrastination in the dust. 

If you’re not into cupcakes, don’t worry. Your reward can be anything that motivates you . Maybe it’s hanging out with your best friend or an extra ten minutes of video game time. As long as you’re choosing something that makes homework worth doing, you’ll be successful. 

#2: Have a Homework Accountability Partner 

If you’re having trouble getting yourself to start your homework ahead of time, it may be a good idea to call in reinforcements . Find a friend or classmate you can trust and explain to them that you’re trying to change your homework habits. Ask them if they’d be willing to text you to make sure you’re doing your homework and check in with you once a week to see if you’re meeting your anti-procrastination goals. 

Sharing your goals can make them feel more real, and an accountability partner can help hold you responsible for your decisions. For example, let’s say you’re tempted to put off your science lab write-up until the morning before it’s due. But you know that your accountability partner is going to text you about it tomorrow...and you don’t want to fess up that you haven’t started your assignment. A homework accountability partner can give you the extra support and incentive you need to keep your homework habits on track. 

#3: Create Your Own Due Dates 

If you’re a life-long procrastinator, you might find that changing the habit is harder than you expected. In that case, you might try using procrastination to your advantage! If you just can’t seem to stop doing your work at the last minute, try setting your own due dates for assignments that range from a day to a week before the assignment is actually due. 

Here’s what we mean. Let’s say you have a math worksheet that’s been assigned on Tuesday and is due on Friday. In your planner, you can write down the due date as Thursday instead. You may still put off your homework assignment until the last minute...but in this case, the “last minute” is a day before the assignment’s real due date . This little hack can trick your procrastination-addicted brain into planning ahead! 

If you feel like Kevin Hart in this meme, then our tips for doing homework when you're busy are for you. 

How to Do Homework When You’re too Busy

If you’re aiming to go to a top-tier college , you’re going to have a full plate. Because college admissions is getting more competitive, it’s important that you’re maintaining your grades , studying hard for your standardized tests , and participating in extracurriculars so your application stands out. A packed schedule can get even more hectic once you add family obligations or a part-time job to the mix. 

If you feel like you’re being pulled in a million directions at once, you’re not alone. Recent research has found that stress—and more severe stress-related conditions like anxiety and depression— are a major problem for high school students . In fact, one study from the American Psychological Association found that during the school year, students’ stress levels are higher than those of the adults around them. 

For students, homework is a major contributor to their overall stress levels . Many high schoolers have multiple hours of homework every night , and figuring out how to fit it into an already-packed schedule can seem impossible. 

3 Tips for Fitting Homework Into Your Busy Schedule

While it might feel like you have literally no time left in your schedule, there are still ways to make sure you’re able to get your homework done and meet your other commitments. Here are our expert homework tips for even the busiest of students. 

#1: Make a Prioritized To-Do List 

You probably already have a to-do list to keep yourself on track. The next step is to prioritize the items on your to-do list so you can see what items need your attention right away. 

Here’s how it works: at the beginning of each day, sit down and make a list of all the items you need to get done before you go to bed. This includes your homework, but it should also take into account any practices, chores, events, or job shifts you may have. Once you get everything listed out, it’s time to prioritize them using the labels A, B, and C. Here’s what those labels mean:

• A Tasks : tasks that have to get done—like showing up at work or turning in an assignment—get an A. 
• B Tasks : these are tasks that you would like to get done by the end of the day but aren’t as time sensitive. For example, studying for a test you have next week could be a B-level task. It’s still important, but it doesn’t have to be done right away.
• C Tasks: these are tasks that aren’t very important and/or have no real consequences if you don’t get them done immediately. For instance, if you’re hoping to clean out your closet but it’s not an assigned chore from your parents, you could label that to-do item with a C.

Prioritizing your to-do list helps you visualize which items need your immediate attention, and which items you can leave for later. A prioritized to-do list ensures that you’re spending your time efficiently and effectively, which helps you make room in your schedule for homework. So even though you might really want to start making decorations for Homecoming (a B task), you’ll know that finishing your reading log (an A task) is more important. 

#2: Use a Planner With Time Labels

Your planner is probably packed with notes, events, and assignments already. (And if you’re not using a planner, it’s time to start!) But planners can do more for you than just remind you when an assignment is due. If you’re using a planner with time labels, it can help you visualize how you need to spend your day.

A planner with time labels breaks your day down into chunks, and you assign tasks to each chunk of time. For example, you can make a note of your class schedule with assignments, block out time to study, and make sure you know when you need to be at practice. Once you know which tasks take priority, you can add them to any empty spaces in your day. 

Planning out how you spend your time not only helps you use it wisely, it can help you feel less overwhelmed, too . We’re big fans of planners that include a task list ( like this one ) or have room for notes ( like this one ). 

#3: Set Reminders on Your Phone 

If you need a little extra nudge to make sure you’re getting your homework done on time, it’s a good idea to set some reminders on your phone. You don’t need a fancy app, either. You can use your alarm app to have it go off at specific times throughout the day to remind you to do your homework. This works especially well if you have a set homework time scheduled. So if you’ve decided you’re doing homework at 6:00 pm, you can set an alarm to remind you to bust out your books and get to work. 

If you use your phone as your planner, you may have the option to add alerts, emails, or notifications to scheduled events . Many calendar apps, including the one that comes with your phone, have built-in reminders that you can customize to meet your needs. So if you block off time to do your homework from 4:30 to 6:00 pm, you can set a reminder that will pop up on your phone when it’s time to get started. 

This dog isn't judging your lack of motivation...but your teacher might. Keep reading for tips to help you motivate yourself to do your homework.

How to Do Homework When You’re Unmotivated 

At first glance, it may seem like procrastination and being unmotivated are the same thing. After all, both of these issues usually result in you putting off your homework until the very last minute. 

But there’s one key difference: many procrastinators are working, they’re just prioritizing work differently. They know they’re going to start their homework...they’re just going to do it later. 

Conversely, people who are unmotivated to do homework just can’t find the willpower to tackle their assignments. Procrastinators know they’ll at least attempt the homework at the last minute, whereas people who are unmotivated struggle with convincing themselves to do it at a ll. For procrastinators, the stress comes from the inevitable time crunch. For unmotivated people, the stress comes from trying to convince themselves to do something they don’t want to do in the first place. 

Here are some common reasons students are unmotivated in doing homework : 

• Assignments are too easy, too hard, or seemingly pointless 
• Students aren’t interested in (or passionate about) the subject matter
• Students are intimidated by the work and/or feels like they don’t understand the assignment 
• Homework isn’t fun, and students would rather spend their time on things that they enjoy 

To sum it up: people who lack motivation to do their homework are more likely to not do it at all, or to spend more time worrying about doing their homework than...well, actually doing it.

3 Tips for How to Get Motivated to Do Homework

The key to getting homework done when you’re unmotivated is to figure out what does motivate you, then apply those things to homework. It sounds tricky...but it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it! Here are our three expert tips for motivating yourself to do your homework. 

#1: Use Incremental Incentives

When you’re not motivated, it’s important to give yourself small rewards to stay focused on finishing the task at hand. The trick is to keep the incentives small and to reward yourself often. For example, maybe you’re reading a good book in your free time. For every ten minutes you spend on your homework, you get to read five pages of your book. Like we mentioned earlier, make sure you’re choosing a reward that works for you! 

So why does this technique work? Using small rewards more often allows you to experience small wins for getting your work done. Every time you make it to one of your tiny reward points, you get to celebrate your success, which gives your brain a boost of dopamine . Dopamine helps you stay motivated and also creates a feeling of satisfaction when you complete your homework !  

#2: Form a Homework Group 

If you’re having trouble motivating yourself, it’s okay to turn to others for support. Creating a homework group can help with this. Bring together a group of your friends or classmates, and pick one time a week where you meet and work on homework together. You don’t have to be in the same class, or even taking the same subjects— the goal is to encourage one another to start (and finish!) your assignments. 

Another added benefit of a homework group is that you can help one another if you’re struggling to understand the material covered in your classes. This is especially helpful if your lack of motivation comes from being intimidated by your assignments. Asking your friends for help may feel less scary than talking to your teacher...and once you get a handle on the material, your homework may become less frightening, too. 

#3: Change Up Your Environment 

If you find that you’re totally unmotivated, it may help if you find a new place to do your homework. For example, if you’ve been struggling to get your homework done at home, try spending an extra hour in the library after school instead. The change of scenery can limit your distractions and give you the energy you need to get your work done. 

If you’re stuck doing homework at home, you can still use this tip. For instance, maybe you’ve always done your homework sitting on your bed. Try relocating somewhere else, like your kitchen table, for a few weeks. You may find that setting up a new “homework spot” in your house gives you a motivational lift and helps you get your work done. 

Social media can be a huge problem when it comes to doing homework. We have advice for helping you unplug and regain focus.

How to Do Homework When You’re Easily Distracted

We live in an always-on world, and there are tons of things clamoring for our attention. From friends and family to pop culture and social media, it seems like there’s always something (or someone!) distracting us from the things we need to do.

The 24/7 world we live in has affected our ability to focus on tasks for prolonged periods of time. Research has shown that over the past decade, an average person’s attention span has gone from 12 seconds to eight seconds . And when we do lose focus, i t takes people a long time to get back on task . One study found that it can take as long as 23 minutes to get back to work once we’ve been distracte d. No wonder it can take hours to get your homework done! 

3 Tips to Improve Your Focus

If you have a hard time focusing when you’re doing your homework, it’s a good idea to try and eliminate as many distractions as possible. Here are three expert tips for blocking out the noise so you can focus on getting your homework done. 

#1: Create a Distraction-Free Environment

Pick a place where you’ll do your homework every day, and make it as distraction-free as possible. Try to find a location where there won’t be tons of noise, and limit your access to screens while you’re doing your homework. Put together a focus-oriented playlist (or choose one on your favorite streaming service), and put your headphones on while you work. 

You may find that other people, like your friends and family, are your biggest distraction. If that’s the case, try setting up some homework boundaries. Let them know when you’ll be working on homework every day, and ask them if they’ll help you keep a quiet environment. They’ll be happy to lend a hand! 

#2: Limit Your Access to Technology 

We know, we know...this tip isn’t fun, but it does work. For homework that doesn’t require a computer, like handouts or worksheets, it’s best to put all your technology away . Turn off your television, put your phone and laptop in your backpack, and silence notifications on any wearable tech you may be sporting. If you listen to music while you work, that’s fine...but make sure you have a playlist set up so you’re not shuffling through songs once you get started on your homework. 

If your homework requires your laptop or tablet, it can be harder to limit your access to distractions. But it’s not impossible! T here are apps you can download that will block certain websites while you’re working so that you’re not tempted to scroll through Twitter or check your Facebook feed. Silence notifications and text messages on your computer, and don’t open your email account unless you absolutely have to. And if you don’t need access to the internet to complete your assignments, turn off your WiFi. Cutting out the online chatter is a great way to make sure you’re getting your homework done. 

#3: Set a Timer (the Pomodoro Technique)

Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro technique ? It’s a productivity hack that uses a timer to help you focus!

Here’s how it works: first, set a timer for 25 minutes. This is going to be your work time. During this 25 minutes, all you can do is work on whatever homework assignment you have in front of you. No email, no text messaging, no phone calls—just homework. When that timer goes off, you get to take a 5 minute break. Every time you go through one of these cycles, it’s called a “pomodoro.” For every four pomodoros you complete, you can take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.

The pomodoro technique works through a combination of boundary setting and rewards. First, it gives you a finite amount of time to focus, so you know that you only have to work really hard for 25 minutes. Once you’ve done that, you’re rewarded with a short break where you can do whatever you want. Additionally, tracking how many pomodoros you complete can help you see how long you’re really working on your homework. (Once you start using our focus tips, you may find it doesn’t take as long as you thought!)

Two Bonus Tips for How to Do Homework Fast

Even if you’re doing everything right, there will be times when you just need to get your homework done as fast as possible. (Why do teachers always have projects due in the same week? The world may never know.)

The problem with speeding through homework is that it’s easy to make mistakes. While turning in an assignment is always better than not submitting anything at all, you want to make sure that you’re not compromising quality for speed. Simply put, the goal is to get your homework done quickly and still make a good grade on the assignment! 

Here are our two bonus tips for getting a decent grade on your homework assignments , even when you’re in a time crunch. 

#1: Do the Easy Parts First 

This is especially true if you’re working on a handout with multiple questions. Before you start working on the assignment, read through all the questions and problems. As you do, make a mark beside the questions you think are “easy” to answer . 

Once you’ve finished going through the whole assignment, you can answer these questions first. Getting the easy questions out of the way as quickly as possible lets you spend more time on the trickier portions of your homework, which will maximize your assignment grade. 

(Quick note: this is also a good strategy to use on timed assignments and tests, like the SAT and the ACT !) 

#2: Pay Attention in Class 

Homework gets a lot easier when you’re actively learning the material. Teachers aren’t giving you homework because they’re mean or trying to ruin your weekend... it’s because they want you to really understand the course material. Homework is designed to reinforce what you’re already learning in class so you’ll be ready to tackle harder concepts later.

When you pay attention in class, ask questions, and take good notes, you’re absorbing the information you’ll need to succeed on your homework assignments. (You’re stuck in class anyway, so you might as well make the most of it!) Not only will paying attention in class make your homework less confusing, it will also help it go much faster, too.

What’s Next?

If you’re looking to improve your productivity beyond homework, a good place to begin is with time management. After all, we only have so much time in a day...so it’s important to get the most out of it! To get you started, check out this list of the 12 best time management techniques that you can start using today.

You may have read this article because homework struggles have been affecting your GPA. Now that you’re on the path to homework success, it’s time to start being proactive about raising your grades. This article teaches you everything you need to know about raising your GPA so you can

Now you know how to get motivated to do homework...but what about your study habits? Studying is just as critical to getting good grades, and ultimately getting into a good college . We can teach you how to study bette r in high school. (We’ve also got tons of resources to help you study for your ACT and SAT exams , too!)

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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Yale Grammatical Diversity Project English in North America 

Done my homework.

(Yerastov 2010b:117)

The done my homework construction involves a form of the word be , followed by the participle finished or done (or, for some speakers, started ), followed by a noun phrase. (1) and (2) show two examples of this construction:

1) I’m done my homework. 2) I’m finished my homework.

Note that the noun phrase does not have to be my homework . In fact, it can be almost any noun phrase, as shown by the following examples taken from Hinnell (2012:4):

3) a. Martin is done his bass tracks and we are ready to start vocals. b. By the time I am done dinner , I don’t want my side snack. c. So many bloggers I read are doing this. One is already done her 50,000 words ! d. This will be particularly important once you’re done the tattoo and need to leave the shop.

Who says this? Syntactic properties Recent survey results References

Who says this?

The done my homework construction is a widespread characteristic of Canadian English, and it is also found in the United States among speakers in the Philadelphia area, southern New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and the northern part of New England (Yerastov 2008, 2010a, 2010b, 2012, 2016; Hinnell 2012; Fruehwald and Myler 2013, 2015; Zanuttini et al. 2016). It has not been found in the dialects of the United Kingdom or elsewhere outside of North America.

See our interactive maps below to explore some of the raw data in more detail.

Syntactic Properties

The syntax of this construction has recently been studied in some detail by Fruehwald and Myler (2013, 2015). The following description is based on their work.

Degree modification by all

The done my homework construction may seem to resemble a sentence like I have done my homework . (A sentence that, like this one, contains have plus a participle is said to be in the perfect aspect ). However, the phrase done my homework is actually more similar to adjective phrases such as ready for school because, like an adjective phrase, these phrases can be modified by the degree word all . (4a) shows a typical example of all modifying an adjective phrase (namely, ready for school ), and (4b) shows an analogous example of the done my homework construction with modification by all :

4) a. I’m all ready for school. b. I’m all done my homework.

By contrast, done my homework may not be modified by all when it is used in a sentence with the perfect aspect. Thus, (5) is not acceptable:

5) *I have all done my homework.

This is evidence that the done my homework construction is not an instance of a verb phrase in the perfect aspect but rather is more like an adjective phrase.

Co-occurrence with perfect aspect

The done my homework construction also differs from verb phrases in the perfect aspect in that done my homework can actually co-occur with the perfect aspect, as in (6):

6) I have been done my homework for a while now.

By contrast, although done my homework can co-occur with the perfect aspect as shown in (6), the perfect aspect cannot co-occur with a second instance of the perfect aspect in the same sentence. Thus, (7) would not be acceptable:

7) *I have had done my homework for a while now.

Fruehwald and Myler (2013, 2015) show several other ways in which the done my homework construction is distinct from the perfect aspect.

No leaving the object behind

At first glance, it may be tempting to think that the done my homework construction involves simply not pronouncing the word with in a sentence like (8):

8) I'm done with my homework.

Fruehwald and Myler (2013, 2015), however, present several differences between the two constructions. One such difference is the ability (shown in (9c)) to move the word done to the beginning of the sentence, similar to the movement of proud and angry in (9a) and (9b):

9) a. Proud though John is of his daughter , it won't matter. b. Angry though John is with his daughter , it won't matter. c. Done though John is with his computer , it won't matter.

This kind of movement is not possible with the done my homework construction. For example, although the entire phrase done his homework may be moved as in (10b), (10a) would be judged unacceptable because only done has moved, leaving the object his homework behind:

10) a. * Done though John may be his homework , it won't matter. b. * Done his homework though John may be, it won't matter.

In this respect, it is similar to phrases like worth the money because (11a), like (10a), is unacceptable, whereas (11b), like (10b), is acceptable:

11)  a. * Worth though this may be the money , it won't matter. b. * Worth the money though this may be, it won't matter.

Fruehwald and Myler (2013, 2015) also argue that the meaning of the construction is not what we would expect if it involved an unpronounced with .

Allowed verbs

There is variation across dialects in terms of which verbs speakers allow in this construction. According to Yerastov (e.g. 2010a, 2010b), there is a hierarchy along the lines of finished > done > started . In other words, if speakers accept started (as in I'm started my homework ), they will accept all three verbs. If speakers accept done , they will also accept finished , but not necessarily started . Finally, some speakers accept only finished . This kind of hierarchy resembles the one found in the needs washed construction with need > want > like (see here for further discussion of the needs washed construction).

Recent Survey Results

The following map shows results from a recent nationwide survey. It represents speakers' judgments of the sentence I'm done my homework . There is some description of the map on the left, as well as a legend in the upper righthand side.

This next map shows recent results of a survey regarding various iterations of the PAST-PARTICIPLE + YOUR HOMEWORK construction:

Page contributed by Jim Wood on February 28, 2014.

Updates/revisions: August 9, 2015 (Tom McCoy); June 1, 2018 (Katie Martin); July 8, 2020 (Oliver Shoulson)

Please cite this page as: Wood, Jim. 2014. Done my homework. Yale Grammatical Diversity Project: English in North America . (Available online at http://ygdp.yale.edu/phenomena/done-my-homework . Accessed on YYYY-MM-DD). Updated by Tom McCoy (2015), Katie Martin (2018), and Oliver Shoulson (2020).

• English (US)
• English (UK)

What is the difference between I've done with my homework and I'm done with my homework (I think both of them have the same meaning, but I'm not sure about that if they have any different meaning) ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.

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I've done with homework은 말이 통하지 않습니다~ I've done my homework *

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• Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)

I've done simply means u finished something. I'm done can also mean u finished something, but it can also mean u don't want to deal with it anymore. like the homework is so damn hard u don't wanna do it anymore, then u can say 'I'm done with my homework '

I think so.

I've done my homework. Means: An action or a way conveying fact that you did your homework and it is settled now. "I am done my homework." This one is a bit grammatically incorrect. Add 'with' like this, "I am done with my homework" but then, the meaning is different now. It means you are frust with your homework, so you quit doing it. You are no longer doing your homework.

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• English Only

I am done my work VS I am done with my work. [regional variation]

• Thread starter phlynhi
• Start date Sep 9, 2009
• Sep 9, 2009

Which of the following is correct to say? "I am done my work." or "I am done with my work." My daughter was telling the babysitter that she had completed her homework and said "I am done my work." The babysitter corrected her by suggesting that the proper sentence is "I am done with my work." Thanks very much.  

Mód ar líne

I am done with my work is correct (in American English, not used as much in British English) It's not correct without with.  

Thank you very much for the quick response, Tegs. Do you know where I can look up this rule? Thanks again.  

envie de voyager

Senior member.

Saying that you are "done with something (or someone)" gives the impression that you are frustrated with something (or someone) and have completely lost interest in that thing (or person).  

On the other hand, you can say "I have done my work." But that's a slightly different concept, indicating that you simply completed a task. "I am done with (X)" indicates that the completion is finalized and will not be resumed.  

envie de voyager said: Saying that you are "done with something (or someone)" gives the impression that you are frustrated with something (or someone) and have completely lost interest in that thing (or person). Click to expand...

Calybos said: On the other hand, you can say "I have done my work." But that's a slightly different concept, indicating that you simply completed a task. "I am done with (X)" indicates that the completion is finalized and will not be resumed. Click to expand...

tadhgka said: This is an old thread, but I hope my answer might still be of interest to someone: This construction is very normal in Canadian English, while most people from the US or Britain will find it ungrammatical. The same goes for "I'm finished X", as in "I'm finished my homework", which in my experience Americans find about as bad as "I'm done the dishes." The judgement that these are fine sentences is very robust among the Canadian speakers I've checked with --- they are usually VERY surprised to learn that Americans can't say the same things. As a note, "I'm done the dishes" doesn't mean the same thing as "I'm done WITH the dishes", but instead entails: "the dishes are done". I'm not sure if "be done" means exactly the same thing as "have done", though. Note that you wouldn't necessarily notice this difference while speaking to Canadians, because in the third person singular "s/he+is" contracts to the same form as "s/he+has". Click to expand...

phlynhi said: Which of the following is correct to say? "I am done my work." or "I am done with my work." My daughter was telling the babysitter that she had completed her homework and said "I am done my work." The babysitter corrected her by suggesting that the proper sentence is "I am done with my work." Thanks very much. Click to expand...

Pedro y La Torre

I am done my work sounds strange, I am done with my work is definitely preferable. I'm finished my homework is perfectly correct Hiberno-English though - I am astonished to read that in AE, such a construction is unacceptable.  

Imber Ranae

Pedro y La Torre said: I am done my work sounds strange, I am done with my work is definitely preferable. I'm finished my homework is perfectly correct Hiberno-English though - I am astonished to read that in AE, such a construction is unacceptable. Click to expand...

Imber Ranae said: It sounds bizarre to my ear. It just doesn't parse. I don't see how "I am done" or "I am finished" may take a direct object. Would you ever utter such a phrase in a formal setting? And do you use any other past participles in the same way, like "I am eaten dinner" (I doubt you say that exact phrase, I'm just giving an example of the sort of construction I mean). Click to expand...

Imber Ranae said: Would you ever utter such a phrase in a formal setting? Click to expand...

Imber Ranae said: And do you use any other past participles in the same way, like "I am eaten dinner" (I doubt you say that exact phrase, I'm just giving an example of the sort of construction I mean). Click to expand...

I'm just passing by, but I remember some previous threads on this topic - and I found them. I'm done the dishes "to be done" versus "to be finished" - I'm done, I'm finished They might be interesting to those involved here.  

• Sep 10, 2009

phlynhi said: For example, in this area (Mid-Atlantic US,) to say that something "went up" means that it is broken. I have, then, the distinct opportunity to pronounce "I'm finished the laundry, and just in time, the dryer just went up!" Click to expand...

pickarooney

I also found the "I'm done the dishes" really 'wrong' but it's true that "I'm finished my dinner" is completely acceptable to me. I've never even thought abotu it before - is it not said in the UK? By the way, what is meant by mid-Atlantic (c.f. phlynhi 's post and location)? For me the term refers either to some place west of the Azores or an accent which is an unholy blend of English and American and used exclusively by bad DJs.  

pickarooney said: I also found the "I'm done the dishes" really 'wrong' but it's true that "I'm finished my dinner" is completely acceptable to me. I've never even thought abotu it before - is it not said in the UK? By the way, what is meant by mid-Atlantic (c.f. phlynhi 's post and location)? For me the term refers either to some place west of the Azores or an accent which is an unholy blend of English and American and used exclusively by bad DJs. Click to expand...

So I guess I am the babysitter in question here. I found it interesting that both the daughter and the parents found "I'm done my work" to sound phonetically correct because we have recently moved north of the Mason Dixon and this simply sounded incorrect to both my wife and me. I thought that it was a regional difference but it still doesn't make it gramatically correct so we corrected the daughter (in a very nice way might I add). Can anyone provide a sentence structure to either support or refute this? I feel that there needs to be a qualifier in the sentence "I have done my work" or "I am done with my work". I am quite certain of her meaning as "I have completed my homework".  

pickarooney said: I also found the "I'm done the dishes" really 'wrong' but it's true that "I'm finished my dinner" is completely acceptable to me. I've never even thought abotu it before - is it not said in the UK? Click to expand...

that doesn't address the structural issue of the sentence. Click to expand...

I found this document, it appears to be a thesis written on this subject. Anyone with half an hour to kill can inform themselves to the point of being an expert on this little "turn of phrase." http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~cla-acl/actes2008/CLA2008_Yerastov.pdf  

Having just moved from the southeastern US (also known as "The South" in the US, a renowned bastion of grammatical and phonetic artistry, to be sure,) gtw1000 has become a great friend and trustworthy and dependable babysitter for me. I have often had the opportunity to gladly return the favor, and his offspring are indeed well-spoken, belying their unfortunate geographic origin. I agree that "done" as used by my daughter requires the preposition 'with' to modify 'done.' << --- >>  

• Sep 11, 2009

<a) "I'm finished" describing my state of completion, intransitive, no object. This is acceptable 'correct' English, just like "I'm hungry". b) "I'm finished my homework" takes utterance a) and appends the finished activity. The end result is describing my state, not recounting my actions. The more grammatically acceptable, "I've finished my homework" recounts actions rather than describing my state. Click to expand...

I am guessing that AE speakers incorporate a sense of completion in the word "done" which speakers like me simply don't experience. Click to expand...

The end result is describing my state, not recounting my actions Click to expand...

envie de voyager said: I found this document, it appears to be a thesis written on this subject. Anyone with half an hour to kill can inform themselves to the point of being an expert on this little "turn of phrase." http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~cla-acl/actes2008/CLA2008_Yerastov.pdf Click to expand...

• Feb 13, 2017

I'm from the Eastern Shore of Maryland (considered part of the Mid-Atlantic region), and these "I'm finished/done X" forms are perfectly natural to me. I find that I say them without realizing, and my friends who have lived on the Eastern Shore but aren't from there/whose families are not originally from there find it disgustingly ungrammatical (like "I'm not finished my coffee yet" will receive a grimace from my breakfast partner when they ask if I'm ready to go). I distinctly remember telling my parents when I was done my homework (see? past tense applies here too), asking "I'm done my homework, so can I go hang out with my friends now?" My brother finds these grammatical, too. Maybe an influence from up north? It's interesting to find out here that there are Canadian and Scottish uses as well. Or maybe it's a grammatical re-analysis with influence from other immigrant languages common to these areas? Just throwing it out there. How is there such a commonality of use but also such a diaspora? I was speaking with another Linguistics friend who is from outside Philadelphia and also uses these forms - we came across this language analysis/atlas project: Done my homework | Yale Grammatical Diversity Project It also includes mentioning of the verb 'started' within this schema, but I personally find it weird. Not to say that it doesn't work for others, though. Thanks phlynhi, envie, and Aidanr444!  

• Sep 2, 2021

I agree that to say "I am done with" conveys the meaning "fed up with / over with" etc. However to say "I am done" can mean "to be finished" but also "to be exhausted" Much better in my view to use the verb "to finish" in the sense of "accomplished or completed" -- "I have finished ..." It all depends upon the demeanor of the speaker however body language, mood, etc to fully understand what is being meant.  

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How to Get Out of Doing Homework

Last Updated: March 4, 2024 Fact Checked

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 111 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 282,937 times. Learn more...

Sometimes you just can't get it together and finish your homework. Maybe you had a concert or a game after school and you were too tired to think when you got home. Maybe you ran out of time, or you fell asleep early. Maybe you just had something way better to do! This article will give you ideas for how to get your parents off your back about doing homework and convince your teachers you have a perfectly good reason why you didn't do the assignment. Plus, learn techniques on how to make it look like you made an attempt at your assignment, but life, fate, or technology got in the way. Just don't make a habit of it, or your grades may suffer.

Making Excuses to Your Teacher

• Notice how your teacher reacts when other students forget their homework to gauge how much you can get away with.
• Notice if your teacher collects homework or usually just walks around and glances at your worksheet to make sure you did it.
• Try to get an idea of what your teacher likes. If they have pictures of their cat everywhere, you may be able to use that to your advantage later by telling them your cat is very sick or had to be put down and you were too devastated to finish the assignment.
• Remember that your teacher probably got into teaching because they are passionate about their subject. Participate in class as much as possible: if they believe you love history, too, they're probably more likely to be sympathetic later.
• Find out how much homework counts toward your final grade. If homework only accounts for 20% of your grade and you ace all your tests, projects, and class participation, you might be able to get by without doing homework and still get a decent grade.

• If your teacher expects you to email them your assignment, ask them the next day if they got your email. When they say they didn't, act confused and explain that you definitely emailed them and that you can't believe it didn't go through. They probably can't check to see if you are lying and will probably give you an extension.

• Claim the death of a family member. Make it someone close enough that it would affect you, but not so close that the teacher will find out about it. A great aunt or uncle works as they tend to be older. There is also no limit on the amount of great aunts and uncles you have, whereas with grandparents there is a limited number of times you can use that excuse. Plus, you don't want to tempt karma by saying your grandma died unexpectedly.
• Say that you are having a private family issue and you don't feel comfortable talking about it, but you can't do the homework.
• Tell your teacher your pet died. But be aware that if your teacher happens to be having a conversation with your parents and says something like "Sorry about the dog!" they may find out you were lying.

• Tell the teacher you were in the bathroom when they assigned the work and you completely missed that you had homework. However, if your teacher has a good memory or writes homework on the board or on a school website, there is a high chance this will not work.

• This works best if you are somebody who rarely gets sick(maybe once or twice a year) then you will be more trustworthy if you appear sick.

• If you do this too often your teacher will stop being sympathetic, so make sure it only happens once or twice.

Making It Look Like You Did Your Homework

• If your teacher walks around the class checking for homework, but doesn't take it in, write your homework page and task at the top of some random notes you have for that class. If they're not attentive, they won't notice.
• If they are attentive, try to distract them by asking a question related to the subject or show them a word in the textbook you don't understand.

• Say you must have left it on your desk/in the car/on the bus and ask if you can turn it in at the end of the day. Then you can quickly do the assignment during lunch.
• Be smart when pretending to be upset that you lost your homework. If you usually slack off and don't do your homework, it may seem odd to the teacher when you suddenly worry about not having your homework.

• If you cheat on writing based homework, paraphrase it so your teacher can't tell that you cheated. Also, think about how you usually perform in class. If you don't usually do well in class on homework and tests, your teacher could get suspicious if you get all the answers right. So to be smart, get some answers wrong on purpose.
• Try asking one friend for answers to questions #1 and #2, then another friend for the answers to questions #3 and #4, and so on until the assignment is complete.
• Assemble a study group and let them work out all the answers.
• If you have a friend who owes you a favor, tell them this is how they can repay their debt.

• Bring in a blank flash drive and swear to your teacher you saved it to the drive and you don't know what happened.

• Go into File Explorer and find the file you want to make corrupt. Right click over the file and select 'Open With...', then select Notepad. Once the file opens in Notepad you should see a really bizarre document with gibberish. Click anywhere within the document and type something random in it, disturbing the flow. After this just save and submit. When your teacher opens it, it will show up an error.
• Do not select "use application as default" when selecting Notepad after File Explorer step or else all word documents (.docx) will automatically in Notepad showing gibberish.
• Create a blank image in Paint and save it in .bmp format. After that, forcefully change its format into .doc (right-click and hit Properties), and change the title to the name of your homework assignment. Now, when you try to open the file in any text viewing program, it will show up as a broken file. Send it to the teacher, and if they ask you the next day, just say sorry about this inconvenience and promise to send it this evening. Now, you have an extra day to complete your homework.

Convincing Your Parents

• So your parents check your history? Easy. If you have the Google Chrome browser, you can use Incognito mode. This will not track your history at all. Press ctrl+shift+N at the same time to open an Incognito tab. Remember to close all Incognito tabs before you go back to doing your homework.
• Remember ctrl + w closes a window with one tab without prompt, so it is the perfect way without downloading Firefox and certain add-ons to use the computer without parent's knowing anything of your exploits.

Community Q&A

Tips from our Readers

• Try to sound very stressed about not finishing your homework. Try to only skip homework when you really need to. It might be obvious that you're not trying if you never do it.
• Try to be honest when you get caught. If you lie and get caught, you might be in bigger trouble.
• Remember: in most cases, it is unlikely your teacher will excuse you from doing the homework altogether, even if these tactics work. Go into it thinking they will give you an extension and you will have time to catch up on your work without it impacting your grade. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Homework is there to help you. In the long run, not doing homework will impact not just your report card but your future. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Avoid lame and common excuses. These excuses have no effect, so don't even try to use them. Avoid "I forgot" and "My dog ate my homework" kind of excuses. Using long, boring excuses may make the teacher just dismiss it and tell you to turn it in tomorrow. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://edinazephyrus.com/how-to-fake-sick-successfully/
• ↑ https://corrupt-a-file.net/

About This Article

If you weren't able to finish your homework, there are a few good excuses you can use to keep your teacher off your back. You can blame technology and say your computer or printer broke. If you needed the internet for your homework, say your internet went off for a few hours. Pretending you forgot your homework isn't the best excuse, but it sounds better than admitting you didn't do it. Search through your bag and pretend to look for it, then tell your teacher you must have left it at home. To make it more convincing, see your teacher at the beginning of class and say you had a busy week and forgot to do the homework. You can even tell them you had a family issue. Teachers are unlikely to call you out for being sick, so try going to the nurse before class and telling them you feel sick and you can’t go to class. For more tips, including how to get out of your parents making you do homework, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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I’M DONE WORK.

A recent post by Anatoly (in Russian) sent me to this post at Ganesha’s Scarf, which describes a phenomenon of Canadian speech of which I had been entirely ignorant:

Yesterday Libby informed me that for the past YEAR she has thought that I had some grammar problem because I kept saying I was done things… “I’m done work,” I’m done my sandwich,” I’m done Bossypants so now you can take it”, etc. Apparently she didn’t want to point it out lest she embarrass me, until the other day when she heard another Canadian interviewed who kept saying the same thing. (btw for everyone who has no clue what’s wrong with these quotes, apparently most people would say “I’m done with work” “I’m done with my sandwich” […] This blogpost is very likely the first website to write anything about the issue. All I’ve managed to find is a lot of arguing on various forums on whether it should be “I’m done dishes” or “I’m done with homework.” The forums confirm that this is Canadian and common to some parts of the East Coast – NJ, New Hampshire, Philadelphia.

The last bit about the East Coast of the U.S. sounds unlikely to me; I think I’d have heard of it in that case, and Anatoly says it’s confined to Canada. Is anybody familiar with this? (There must be linguistic literature about it, but I don’t know how to search for it.)

(I’m Canadian, from Ontario.) I can confirm that I use this pattern of speech and had no idea anyone might do differently.

Canadian here, and I use this, certainly (but not “I’m done dishes”!) Does this really not occur in General American? I had no idea this was a Canadian phenomenon.

By the way, “I’m done my sandwich” and “I’m done with my sandwich” are not equivalent. The latter implies that there is some sandwich remaining, but I don’t want any more of it. The former would indicate that there isn’t any sandwich left.

Born New York City, 1942; I’ve used this with “work” but never used or heard it with anything else.

New Jersey here, and I definitely use that construction.

Funny, this just came up on LJ. All I’ve ultimately learned is a. Canadians talk funny and b. they don’t realize it. http://linguaphiles.livejournal.com/5687109.html http://linguaphiles.livejournal.com/5672802.html

New Jersey 1958, New York City 1976, never heard it, never used it. “I’m done with work” or “I’m done working”.

I’m from New Hampshire and that construction sounds normal to me. I was not aware it’s a regionalism, I’ll have to be sure to use it more often. There is a scale though – ” done work” is completely normal, I wouldn’t give it a second thought. “done my sandwich” is also fine, however “I’m done the sandwich” would be weird, the construction definitely requires the possessive in this case. “I’m done dishes” sounds odd to me. What about “done” with gerunds? “I’m done skiing” or “I’m done drinking”? Isn’t that normal everywhere? “I’m done with skiing” means you have quit the activity, “I’m done skiing” means you are finished for the day.

I know I have to resist my inner prescriptivist, but this is so wrong, so very wrong.

Canadian, from Nova Scotia. I’ve used this for work, school, ‘my homework’, and maybe a few other things. Can’t think of other examples at the moment.

Grew up in New Jersey, not far from Philadelphia. This is extremely familiar to me and I sometimes use it myself. I agree completely with Vanya’s comments on the limitations of this construction. “I’m done dishes” sounds odd to me. At least locally, this construction was considered slang, at least by my generation. We well aware as children that if we told a teacher, “I’m done my test”, we were likely to be corrected, and that “I’m done my report now” is definitely not the sort of thing you tell your boss.

I guess this shows how often we are not aware what distinguishes one’s own use of language from that of other groups. I’m from southern Ontario, but it is only since moving to Scotland that people have been able to convince me that the whole ‘out and about’ thing is actually noticeable to other people. I definitely have always used the ‘done x’ construction and never thought it specifically Canadian. I agree that ‘I’m done dishes’ sounds odd, but that’s only because it would be ‘I’m done THE dishes’–at least, that’s the usage with which I am familiar. So are all of the following mainly Canadian usage? done the dishes done my homework done your chores done the housework done the book done my project/thesis/paper/etc. done supper

I moved to Maine a few years ago (I’m originally from the midwest) and encountered this phenomenon. I’ve since had a lot of arguments with people in which I tried to tell them that this construction was incorrect and no one believed me. So it’s not just limited to Canada, it has bled down into New England as well.

This ex-pat Canuck most assuredly says, “I’m done work” and “I’m done working.” These sentences contain the implied phrase “for the x,” where x is a unit of time — usually a day or week. As I think about it (which I’d never done before because I’d never noticed the usage), it occurs to me that I also say, “I’m done swimming” and the like. I was about to write that I would not say, “I’m done dishes.” But it’s not true. I might say it in a light tone accompanied by a gesture. I have many American friends who live or grew up in the Northeast U.S. No one has ever remarked on the matter; I’d go so far as to say that they all know the usage. Does the saying “Seen it, did it, got the t-shirt” fit this mold?

Mark, I’d say “done the dishes”, but after an “I’ve” not an “I’m”. It’s not the “done the noun” part that’s so weird, it’s the fact that it comes after “I’m”.

Here’s an article that reveals all: Yerastov, Yuri. 2010. ‘ Done, finished, and started as reflexes of the Scottish transitive be perfect in North America: their synchrony, diachrony, and current marginalisation‘. It’s a pdf and I’m not sure how to link to it. You’ll just have to gulag the title. Language: The last bit about the East Coast of the U.S. sounds unlikely to me; Yuri Yerastov says :

When I interviewed native speakers of English from Cape Breton, Northeastern Vermont, Montreal, Cardston (Alberta), and Saskatoon, I found the occurrence of the construction [I am {done, finished, started} NP], as exemplified below: (1) a. I am done dinner b. I am finished my homework c. I am started this project I also found a less productive variant of this construction, which only allows [I am {done/ finished} NP], but not [I am started NP]. This variant that occurs in many other Canadian dialects (e.g. Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver), as well as in Philadelphia.

He says later:

I have amassed some evidence that suggests that [be done NP] occurs in Vermont, Philadelphia, and North Carolina. The robust occurrence of these tokens in Vermont may be corroborated by the author of the present essay, who at some point lived there not as a researcher but as a high school student; some of the most common tokens that I heard while attending Lake Region Union High School in Orleans, Vermont, were: (9) a. I am done my essay. b. I am finished my homework. c. I am started this project. Doing fieldwork in Vermont (2007-2009), I collected a variety of tokens of [be done NP], some of which are presented below in § 5. For independent confirmation of my Vermont data, one could refer to the audio files and electronic transcripts of ethnographic narratives collected and processed by Sterling College (Craftsbury, Vermont); there one can find two tokens of [be done NP]: (10) My father had three brothers one of which went to high school, I think the whole way. But he went away and boarded away, when he went to high school he never came back. When he was done high school he was on his own. Transcript of interview with Bradley Allen of Wolcott, Vermont http://www.digitalcommunitiesproject.org (11) My grandfather Fisk, when I was going to high school. He used to sit out on the porch, by the road. One night I got so blue and lonesome I walked home from Craftsbury Common. He never said a word to me when I went by, but after I got in the house up there he was right there behind me. Said, what in the hell are you doing here? Is what he said to me. [laughs] I said, I’m all done school. Like hell you are, what‘s the trouble? Transcript of interview with Eva Colgrove of Wolcott, Vermont http://www.digitalcommunitiesproject.org Some evidence of [be done NP] occurring in the Philadelphia region may be found online; consider, for example, a discussion of [be done NP] in 22 Phildelphia vis-à-vis Pittsburgh in (12), as well as a spontaneous token produced by a speaker on a social networking site in (13). Yerastov, Scottish transitive be perfect in North America (12) [Question] 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. [Answer] This is a very big issue where I come from. Yes, I come from the Philadelphia Region. If ‗I’m done my homework’ or ‘I’m done the dishes’ is said around here, it sounds completely normal. However, it’s not grammatically correct. I spend a lot of time in Utah, and if I were to say that to someone, they would give me the strangest look ever! Though when i came back to New Jersey and tried to explain […] my point to my friends, they didn’t understand why that’s wrong. http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t1301-0.htm (13) hey baby i am done dinner but i stayed up really late last night so do you mind if i take like an hour nap and we hang out around 8? http://comment.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.view Comments&friendID=56331396 There is also some tenuous evidence of the construction occurring in the Southern United States. For example, in Liberman‘s (2007) Language Log, Dick Margulis cites Kyle McCaskill, who reports: (14) Up until today I had never heard this usage from anyone but my husband: ‗I am done this book,‘ meaning, ‗I have finished reading this book.‘ He’s from North Carolina, so I thought it was colloquial southern phrasing.

When this Australian went to the U.S. West coast, one of the first things he noticed was that people said ‘I’m done’ when they’d finished eating. Not that ‘I’m done’ is actually wrong, but: (1) ‘I’m done’ is something I would say when I’d finished a task (like having a shower, etc.), and to say that about eating a meal sounds ever so slightly disrespectful to the cook or host. (2) ‘I’m done’ sounds somewhat more colloquial, and in my own usage I think the weight of usage has shifted in the direction of ‘I’ve finished’. These thoughts came up because I don’t see the Canadian usage as having the same meaning as ‘done with’. ‘Done with’ is perfectly normal in my own usage, being a milder version of ‘had it with’, and is definitely different from ‘I’m done’. Looking at the Canadian usage, ‘I’m done’ looks like a substitute for ‘I’ve finished….’ So where the Canadian usage says ‘I’m done the dishes’ or ‘I’m done work’, I would normally say ‘I’ve finished the dishes’ or ‘I’ve finished work’. (Actually, I’d probably say ‘I’ve finished the washing up’ or ‘I’ve knocked off work’, but anyway). I think the confusion with ‘done with’ in the Ganesha’s Scarf post actually obscures how the Canadian usage works.

AJP: Thanks very much indeed! I stand in awe of your research skills. As for The last bit about the East Coast of the U.S. sounds unlikely to me …it’s clear to me from this thread alone that I was wrong about that, and the article provides the details. It is odd, however, that the phenomenon is so little known. I know I have to resist my inner prescriptivist, but this is so wrong, so very wrong. That was Anatoly’s reaction as well; he’s not a native speaker, but his English is very good indeed, he has a feel for different dialects and levels of usage, and he said that when he ran across this it didn’t strike him as dialectal but as something a foreign learner of English might come up with. It strikes me, and clearly you, that way as well; I wonder why that is? What makes this construction so very wrong/odd-sounding (for those of us who don’t use it, obviously)?

when he ran across this it didn’t strike him as dialectal but as something a foreign learner of English might come up with. It strikes me, and clearly you, that way as well; I wonder why that is? I think the key lies in the title of the article that AJP O’Rangtuan dug up: ‘ Done, finished , and started as reflexes of the Scottish transitive be perfect in North America: their synchrony, diachrony, and current marginalisation‘. The problem is with this so-called Scottish transitive be perfect (which I’d never heard of before). ‘Be + past participle’ is fine with a lot of English verbs, although sometimes archaic-sounding. So it’s quite natural in English to say ‘I’m done’. What is unnatural is to say ‘I’m done + NP’. Can you think of any similar English expressions? ‘I’m broken the cup’? ‘I’m fixed dinner’? I think that is where the problem lies.

That is also why people immediately try to ‘fix’ the construction by adding a ‘with’. ‘I’m done the dishes’ sounds wrong, so people automatically insert a ‘with’ to make it ok. The problem is that ‘I’m done the dishes’ isn’t equivalent to ‘I’ve done with the dishes’, it’s equivalent to ‘I’ve finished the dishes’.

Sorry, that should have been: The problem is that ‘I’m done the dishes’ isn’t equivalent to ‘I’m done with the dishes’, it’s equivalent to ‘I’ve finished the dishes’.

In German some verbs take haben=have with the past participle, as in English, while other take sein=be. Right? As if in English we were to say I am [not have] traveled to Cologne. I am [not have] come home. I am [not have] been very sleepy lately. Actually the second of these sounds a tad archaic, but not wrong. As does “The Lord is [not has] come” in the Christmas carol. Are these old-fashioned usages vestiges of a mostly forgotten pattern? Was there a time when “The Lord has come” would have been wrong? Is this “done work” phenomenon a vestige of a more robust usage in a (Scottish?) dialect where one would never say “I have done the thing you asked”, but rather “I am done the thing you asked”? It seems to me that in some expressions the word “done” functions more as an adjective than as a (participial) verb. And not just “done”. A red herring is that some examples of this stem from the passive (is that the right term?) use of “be” with participle: I have [not am] closed the book, but the book is [not has] closed. I have [not am] done a deal, but the deal is [not has] done. So, a closed book, a done deal. Or dinner is done to a turn. But it’s not always like that, right? In “I am done” there is no suggestion that something did me. And in “all the money is gone”, there’s not transitive verb involved: it’s not that some agent went the money. What’s up with this, anyway? OK, I’m done.

I think this is Scots in origin. I heard it all the time in Edinburgh 1975-79. There are a lot of folks of Scottish extraction in Canada. You’d set up a time to meet your friends at the pub; “Och, I’ll get there once I’m done work, say half five.”

There are a lot of folks of Scottish extraction in Canada. I had no idea how Scottish Canada was until I got off the train in Edinburgh. I felt I was in Ottawa! The Daily Scotsman reads more / feels more like a Canadian newspaper than anything published in London. I recall reading that a great many of the factors who worked in the Hudson’s Bay Co. fur trading posts were Scottish. (Check out Moose Factory on the web.)

I’m Canadian and can confirm this speech pattern. Note: “I’m done work” means I’ve finished my workday “I’m done with work” means I won’t be returning to that place ever. Similarly, “I’m done the dishes” means I finished washing them. “I’m donr with the dishes” means I will be replacing them.

“I’ll get there once I’m done work” sounds utterly natural to me, and I use “done work” myself. “When he was done high school he was on his own” sounds natural to me too (it’s surprising to me that “done high school” would not sound natural to most people), though many of the other examples given do sound odd to me. I would never use “I am started this project,” for instance. I’m from Virginia and my speech tends toward the southern side of things (I was hardly aware of NE speech patterns, let alone Canadian, growing up).

I hear this all the time in Vancouver from Canadian grad students in my department, whether they be from Newfoundland or from Richmond BC. I found it interesting that it’s a direct parallel to a construction I recall in Hawaiian English, from Hawaiian Pidgin: I’m pau (D) NP. So “I’m pau hana” ‘I’m done work’, “I’m pau da essay” ‘I’m done the essay’, etc. This is not the same as the Hawaiian Pidgin construction, which has just ‘I’ as the subject and ‘pau’ is a verb.

In linguistics this distinction is encapsulated in the contrast between unergative and unaccusative verbs, i.e., intransitive verbs whose subject is, from a semantic perspective, the doer ( agent ) or the experiencer ( patient ) of the action. In Romance and Germanic languages (like French, Italian, German, and Dutch) that have two different auxiliaries for forming the perfective past (preterite), unergative verbs take “to have” (avere/avoir/haben/etc.) as the auxiliary and unaccusative verbs take “to be” (essere/être/sein/etc.). Vestiges of the unergative/unaccusative distinction seem to have survived as late as Early Modern English (hence “the Lord is come”). Radford’s Syntax: A Minimalist Introduction gives some examples from Shakespeare, like “How chance thou art returned so soon?” (Comedy of Errors, I.ii) “She is fallen into a pit of ink.” (Much Ado About Nothing, IV.i)

A Squibb Pharmaceuticals indigestion pill was advertised in the 1930’s with the slogan “Finished your dinner? Now it’s acid’s turn to dine!”

@bathrobe: he problem is that ‘I’m done the dishes’ isn’t equivalent to ‘I’m done with the dishes’, it’s equivalent to ‘I’ve finished the dishes’. In my dialect, there is no difference between I’m done with… and I’m finished with… I find it interesting that for those who familiarly use the I’m done [the dishes, etc.} that adding a ‘with’ changes the sense to one of forever after. It does not have those connotations to me.

I’ll also note the similarity with the British usage of ‘done’ that I’m mostly familiar with from reading inordinate numbers of English mysteries, where one might answer a question by saying “I have done” where an American would say merely, “I have,” For example one might be asked “Have you finished your lessons?” and the BE answer would be “I have done.” rather than merely, “I have.”

@grackle Just curious, if you heard/read something like: “I’m done with work, I’m done with kowtowing to unreasonable bosses, I’m done with doing overtime every night, I’m done with phone calls over the weekend! I quit!”, would it suggest something other than ‘forever after’? Although I guess you could, if you wanted, substitute ‘finish’: “I’m finished work, I’m finished kowtowing to unreasonable bosses, I’m finished doing overtime every night, I’m finished with phone calls over the weekend! I quit!”. As I said, just curious about the nuance here. The British expression ‘I have done’ doesn’t relate to this case. ‘Done’ is just a dummy verb standing in for the verb in the question.

Ugh! The second one should have been: “I’ve finished work, I’ve finished kowtowing to unreasonable bosses, I’ve finished doing overtime every night, I’ve finished with phone calls over the weekend! I quit!”

Another Ontarian to whom this is normal and natural, and is finding out for the first time that it’s not standard. Can those of you who don’t use this construction explain why it sounds wrong, and what you say instead?

I wonder whether “I’m done X-ing”, which I do use, is also parochial. Google Ngrams search doesn’t show any instances of I’m done working or I’m done eating in the British English corpus, but it is found in the American English corpus. Could our English participants weigh in here? Empty: Apparent uses of be + participle (which is the regular passive form) aren’t always participles: sometimes they are just predicate adjectives. The door was closed is ambiguous between an a state adjective and event expressed by a passive. By contrast, we must say the door was open for state, the door was opened for event. Wimbrel: I did a search in the KJV some time back, and found come, go, become as the only surviving verbs that use unergative syntax beyond all doubt; returned, fallen and the like are arguably stative adjectives of the type I mentioned above, though no longer so in contemporary English. The have/be distinction must be part of the European Sprachbund , as it is not present in older IE languages. Bathrobe and Grackle: Add me to the list of those for whom I’m done with the dishes and I’m finished with the dishes normally do mean the same thing. Pragmatically this can be overridden with sentential stress on done , or by context. I myself would tend to use through with rather than either done with or finished (with) in the “forever” situation. Alternatively, I could say I’m done with doing the dishes .

But I wasn’t talking about ‘done with’ and ‘finished with’. My point was that ‘done with’ and ‘done’ are not the same thing. I agree that ‘done with’ and ‘finish with’ are the same, and ‘done’ and ‘finished’ are also the same.

The question is whether the additional ‘with’ adds any extra nuance or meaning or not.

Yes it does, Bathrobe. By putting them in the dishwasher, I’ve done the dishes in no time. I’m done with doing them by hand.

Another Ontarian to whom this is normal and natural, and is finding out for the first time that it’s not standard. Can those of you who don’t use this construction explain why it sounds wrong, and what you say instead? It sounds wrong because we don’t say it and aren’t used to hearing it; what we say instead would depend on the specific example. “I’m done work” would (if I understand the nuance correctly) be “I’ve finished working.”

“I’m done work” would (if I understand the nuance correctly) be “I’ve finished working.” Not necessarily. It could also mean “I’ve left/am leaving work (my place of employment).” It could also mean “will be finished work.” I.e A; “when should I pick you up tonight?” B: “I’m done work at 5, so anytime after that.” I actually find it hard to imagine how one can speak English on a daily basis without access to such a handy construction.

@Vanya: In your example B: I would say “I finish work at 5” (if that is my regular schedule) or “I’ll have finished my work by 5” I actually find it hard to imagine how one can speak English on a daily basis without access to such a handy construction. We get by somehow 🙂 I didn’t even use “I’m done” as a standalone sentence when I grew up in England: it’s something I picked up when I moved to the US. In England I would have said “I’ve finished”.

@johncowan I wonder whether “I’m done X-ing”, which I do use, is also parochial. Google Ngrams search doesn’t show any instances of I’m done working or I’m done eating in the British English corpus, but it is found in the American English corpus. Could our English participants weigh in here? I used to be English. I do not use, and have never used, “I’m done X-ing”, although I’ve picked up “I’m done” as a complete sentence since moving to the US (Northern California). I say “I’ve finished X-ing” instead (just as I used to say “I’ve finished” for “I’m done” before coming to the US).

Really interesting discussion so far. I’m wondering, for those of you who don’t use “I’m done X”, do you have available “I’m finished X?” I use both, and I think they are essentially equivalent. I can also use “have” with both verbs, but it definitely is more formal, especially with “done”.

I’m surprised no one’s mentioned that there’s also the US ‘done’ used for emphasis, as in I done told you baby .

I’m wondering, for those of you who don’t use “I’m done X”, do you have available “I’m finished X?” I certainly don’t. I don’t think I’m ever heard it, either 🙂

Never heard it myself, even though I’m from the general area in the U.S. Really, however, I wanted to comment less to add my two cents than to further applaud AJP’s research. The areas mentioned in it are not ones I frequent, though they’re not exactly far.

Some time ago we had a Canadian exchange student staying with us, a native Canadian French speaker. She left a lovely note in English thanking us for the hospitality, except she wrote several times ‘I would like to grate you…’ We had a generous laugh and decided it was an excusable mistake. But having read the above, I begin to wonder: maybe it is indeed a Canadian usage and folks there do say ‘grate’ meaning ‘thank’? anyone?

@Sashura: I’ve never heard that usage myself. I’m Canadian, 40 years old, from Manitoba.

ah, thanks!

Thank you, Language & Jimsal. Fortuitous googling found me that article by Yuri Yerastov, I couldn’t repeat it.

Just to add another data point: I hear this construction regularly from a group of my friends who’ve spent their whole lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Having grown up in California, I’d never heard it before meeting them. (Another construction they use which I’d never heard before meeting them, and which still sounds strange to me: “I’m going over John’s for dinner.”)

Doesn’t seem to be a generational thing, does it? Is it a rural/urban divide? Or just a spotty regional thing? I’m 25 and from a bit west of Baltimore, MD. I definitely grew up saying this. My parents (from IN and TN) gave me a hard time about it, so I knew it wasn’t standard, but that didn’t change the fact that it sounded fine to my ear. @D Sky Onosson: I have both “I’m done X” and “I’m finished X” available, and hear them as essentially equivalent. “Finished” might be a little more formal. I use them both primarily for chores and tasks, especially school-related stuff: “I’m done my homework. Can I go outside?” “When I’m finished my PhD, I’ll probably be headed off to a postdoc position somewhere.” On the other hand, “I’m done the laundry” sounds pretty marginal to me. That might just be because I learned the construction from other kids, not from my parents’ speech.

Doesn’t seem to be a generational thing, does it? Is it a rural/urban divide? Or just a spotty regional thing? That last would be my guess. I’m 27, and only a 2-hour ride down 95 (with a few switches on 395 and 495, if memory serves); I’ve spent my fair share of time in both cities and suburbs; and it sounds perfectly strange to me.

“I’m done work” sounds perfectly normal to me, but the other examples don’t. Grew up in a strongly French Canadian city in NH in the 1950s and 60s.

Connecticut here; I’ve never heard of it :/

@AJP: “Done” isn’t (just) an emphasis marker. It’s a very complex aspect modal.

I wonder if this is related to the British (Scottish?) usage of “agree a new contract” as opposed to the American “agree on [or to] a new contract.” There’s a similar dropped preposition.

I live in Philadelphia but was raised in northern Pennsylvania, and I notice this constantly . At my workplace, I hear the construction on a daily basis, and it’s very productive. Not only do I hear phrases such as “done work” and “done lunch”, but also less specific constructions like “When you’re done that, can you come help me?” It’s generally more blue collar, but it does cross into upper class speech a fair amount. If you grew up in Northeast Philly, you’re weird if you don’t say it this way. As far as I can tell, it’s white only, with no bleeding over into AAVE. Also, it crosses over a variety of nationalities—I have heard folks of Italian, Slavic, and Irish heritage use it, including first generation children of immigrants. If it comes from a particular language, it’s been picked up by everyone else along the way.

Salt: That’s funny, I do a lot of business in north Philly, on Aramingo near Allegheny, a few miles east of the 16th most dangerous neighborhood in the country, at least according to Daily Finance (I wanted to include a link, but apparently Hat’s site will tolerate the phrase “[email protected],” probably for good reason); and despite that familiarity, I can’t ever recall hearing that locution, although I’ll listen for it now of course — and probably start encountering it left and right.

“Hat’s site *won’t* tolerate,” that is, of course. Apologies.

Salt: You’ve had the pound cake at Stock’s on Lehigh, right? If not, you’re missing out. It’s cheap, and it’s damn good. The chocolate chip cookies too.

I was taught that English has verbs of state, and verbs of motion/ change. “The Lord is come” uses “come” as a verb of state with auxiliary “be”, and describes what is true now, regardless of the past. “The Lord has come” uses “come” as a verb of change with auxiliary “have”, and implies that something is now true that formerly wasn’t, ie, that something has changed. (We can argue the theology later.) In this analysis, “I’m done work” uses “do” as a verb of state, describing a current condition, rather than emphasizing an alteration, or completion, or some other change. Seems OK to me, but I’m a New Englander.

I would most well say that it is worth using! I´m from Canada my self and I´ve been gone from my home and native land for many years since and nonetheless,here living in in Colombia after having lived in the U.S.A., have always thought that that was just the done way of speaking, should you know what I mean….. but last night did I fall upon the veriness here that many don´t agree herewith and rather say that it´s wrong. Ok well I´m from South western Ontario and thanks to God do I use it. Basically so.

I´m done! terminé (en español) I´m done my homework I´m done working for today I´m done with working (most likely will ofter mean tired of …-ing) I´m done with it. (I finished it)

Just think about gone. He has gone to the store, or he went to the store.

but not he is gone to the store… rather he´s (he is gone) and that´s it!

and what about worth! they say that worth is a preposition but it originally was a noun and an adjective only! so it realy is an adjective! and you say

it is worth(adjective) a lot, or a thousand dollars! he is done (adjective here) his home work!

in Swedish it´s the same since it´s a germanic tongue like English

du är värd mer än du tror! thou art worth more than thou trouest! you are worth more than you believe!

Jesus loves us , thus are we worth a lot,

and herewith, namely with this conversation am I done!

thanks to Jesus Christ!

I was taught that English has verbs of state, and verbs of motion/ change. “The Lord is come” uses “come” as a verb of state with auxiliary “be”, and describes what is true now, regardless of the past. “The Lord has come” uses “come” as a verb of change with auxiliary “have”, and implies that something is now true that formerly wasn’t, ie, that something has changed.

That’s… interesting, and makes plenty of sense, but I bet it’s still wrong. It’s simply from a time when most but not all English verbs formed their present perfect with “have”, and the others used “be”. It’s still that way in German: the… cognate of the present perfect is ist gekommen , and * hat gekommen is simply wrong no matter if a state or the result of an action is expressed.

“I am become Death, destroyer of worlds.”

(Be)come and go were the last English verbs to switch from be to have , and they are just about the only ones surviving in the King James Version, so is come, is become, is gone just sound archaic rather than bizarre, as is sat, is lain would. Of course, a participle can typically function as a predicate adjective as well, so we get contrasts like The door is closed (adjective) vs. The door has closed (instrument subject with present perfect).

is sat, is lain

Incidentally, German is divided on these. 🙂

This is very interesting. My fiancee is Canadian and I’ve been noticing this speech pattern for years now. It has kind of been driving me crazy because it simply doesn’t sound like “proper” english to me. Here’s an example of a Candian’s usage of this on a recent facebook post.

“All done exams”

Coming from the midwest, I would never speak this way. It doesn’t sound “correct” and in no way sounds natural. It seems like this speech is a literal form of communication. By omitting a “with” in this instance, the subject is avoiding any confusion that “with” could create in a literal translation of the sentence.

Although “All done exams” truly means “i’ve finished exams” (assumed to mean “i’ve finished MY exams, or THE exams”), if I were to say “all done WITH exams”, I can say with absolute certainty that all of my peers/family/etc. would KNOW what I mean. Even Canadians would know what I mean. They would not assume, that by adding a “with”, that I suddenly would just be completely done with (either out of my status in academia or just general frustration with the act of taking exams) taking exams. In my opinion, the addition of “with” does not imply finality.

Ultimately, I guess I’m curious as to what is “proper” in a general sense. Perhaps there isn’t a true answer? Just another example as to how life is largely subjective and our brains operate on assumption.

Answering my own question, perhaps neither are “correct”. They’re both probably just regional dialectic decisions that are casual “slang”.

It has kind of been driving me crazy because it simply doesn’t sound like “proper” english to me.

But that’s purely because it’s not familiar to you; it has nothing to do with being proper.

Answering my own question, perhaps neither are “correct”. They’re both probably just regional dialectic decisions that are casual “slang”.

You’re right that neither is “correct,” but it’s not a matter of slang, just different dialects of the same language.

French speaker, 50 years (already!) in English Canada, about equally divided between West and East coasts:

I would never say “I’m done work” but I must have heard it many times as it does not sound unfamiliar to me. I understand it to mean “I have finished for the day”. Both “I’m done working” and “I’m done with work/working” would mean “I am retired”. “I’m done my homework/the dishes/other NP” does not ring a bell, but I would interpret it as different from “I’ve done ….”: “I’m done …” is a declartive statement standing on its own, while “I’ve done …” would be an answer to a question.

But here is another construction which I have heard from my son-in-law who grew up in rural New Jersey and moved to the West Coast as an adult: “I’m done finished” (said after completing a fairly complex, lengthy task). Comments?

“I’m done finished”! Wow, that’s an interesting one. I’m curious if it is specific to your son-in-law and perhaps his family or whether it’s a dialect thing; I’ve never heard/seen it.

I don’t find any evidence; most ghits are really for “I’m done. Finished.” English Forums has an article on I’m done that . Just ignore the prescriptive rants: there’s data in them-there hills.

I don’t know my son-in-law’s family but when he said that it was as a single sentence, with no break between “done” and “finished”. I iincline to think that it is a dialectal feature, as I think the family has been in that area for generations.

I’m not sure about “I’m done finished”, but “I done finished” is certainly grammatical in some dialects.

Perhaps that is what I heard, and mentally inserted the ‘m ?

But my end game here is that something IS proper. Whether or not something isn’t familar to me is irrelevant.

But what does “proper” mean? It either means “approved by a random bunch of peevers who happen to have gotten books published,” which is silly, or “actually used on a regular basis by a group of native speakers.” Tertium non datur.

I’m from Long Island but moved to Plattsburgh which is still NY but near the Canadian boarder. My husband and I have been losing our minds hearing people do this in Plattsburgh, because neither of us had ever heard anyone do this for our entire lives on Long Island. We didn’t know where it originated but it really caught our attention since it is grammatically incorrect and really stands out when you’re not used to it.

But it’s not incorrect, you’re just not used to it. Singular “you” is incorrect if you want to get serious about it.

To be more specific, perhaps it doesn’t fit a certain definition of “grammaticality”, which is based on a certain set of normative rules.

A nice quote I came across recently in the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language regarding some people’s complaints that the double negative is evidence of ignorance and illiteracy is this:

Someone who thinks the song title I can’t get no satisfaction means “It is impossible for me to lack satisfaction” does not know English.

Cool to know other people say this too! I’m from Vermont and also use the phrase “just got done work”. I’d never given it a second thought until my boyfriend pointed it out.

Done my homework at the Yale Grammatical Diversity Project, updated in 2020, has maps and some syntactic arguments that (contrary to Yerastov 2010) it does not behave as a be -perfect, but more as an adjective phrase:

However, the phrase done my homework is actually more similar to adjective phrases such as ready for school because, like an adjective phrase, these phrases can be modified by the degree word all . … 4) a. I’m all ready for school. b. I’m all done my homework.

By contrast, done my homework may not be modified by all when it is used in a sentence with the perfect aspect. Thus, (5) is not acceptable:

5) *I have all done my homework.

See there for references and more detail. They also say “It has not been found in the dialects of the United Kingdom or elsewhere outside of North America,” contrary to the comment from David Derbes above, “I heard it all the time in Edinburgh 1975-79.” What’s up with that?

Cross-reference: The Code-Switching Life links to Kory Stamper’s blog where she gets flustered about her youngest daughter’s “I’m done my homework”, acquired in Philadelphia.

Interesting, thanks!

I spotted this in an old issue of Weird Tales last night, although I don’t know if it was intended or just an editing error:

The flying-mechanisms came rapidly up, swarmed in a crowd around our descending cruiser. There was something chilling and uncanny at the sight of the metal machines acting with apparent volition and intelligence. They seemed watching us , but made no move to attack us. I had a lively sense, though, that they were only waiting for an untoward movement on our part to leap upon us.

It was a from a story by Edmond Hamilton —which was not why I was perusing that particular issue, but which I decided to read while I was at it. Hamilton’s story is not great. It was was clearly written from beginning to end with little post-editing, and it strikes the modern reader as very odd for not using the word robot , although I suppose that was understandable in 1934.

I love researching this topic. My boyfriend is from a suburb of Philadelphia and when I first heard him say “I’m done work” I was so confused! hahahaha:) And now I find myself writing “done work” or “done my meetings” because I’ve heard him say it/type is so much hahaha:)

So glad I found this. Half my friend group are from Philly and they say this all the time. They’re also close to a decade younger than me, so I wasn’t sure if this was a Gen Z thing or a Philly/East coast thing.

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