Could anyone clarify, please, what the difference between these two sentences is? I heard an American woman say to her child: "Don't you do this!"
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2"Don't you do ..." is what you say to a child. The word "dare" is elided but implied.– Hot LicksCommented Nov 25, 2014 at 20:07
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1Normally the you is not said, but if it is, it's a mark of emphasis, as to a child, where it usually means -- or is intended to be interpreted as -- "I'm getting angry". Adding dare, as @HotLicks points out, is another emphatic marker.– John LawlerCommented Nov 25, 2014 at 20:26
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4And heaven help you if your mother says your full name!– Hot LicksCommented Nov 25, 2014 at 20:27
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2 Answers
As John Lawler has explained, "don't you do that" adds emphasis to "don't do that".
That's what a mother would say to a child, a teacher to a naughty pupil, a wife to a reckless husband and, as Hot Licks points out, "dare" is implied most of the time.
"William James, don't you do that! Put the cat down immediately."
Whether "don't you do that" sounds more or less bossy, largely depends on the intonation one uses. It can be a friendly and loving "don't you do that...no....please...not here" or a real order "DON'T YOU DO THAT !!!"
answered Nov 25, 2014 at 21:27
An imperative sentence has the implied subject "you;" therefore you can say, "Don't do this."
