Questions tagged [do-support]
The do-support tag has no usage guidance.
70
questions
0
votes
0
answers
29
views
'Did/does' at head of subordinate phrase
He does have a sense of humour does Mr Marr.
Nigel Williams, 1992
Is this double use of do just doubly emphatic?
Secondly, why can't do be used similarly, for example with a plural proper noun?
- 2,177
1
vote
2
answers
171
views
She invited me to go with them, which I'd quite like to (do)
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language , in Chapter 17 Deixis and anaphora, says (Page 1526):
Is [iv] well-formed? How about adding do after to as follows?
She invited me to go with them, ...
- 4,721
1
vote
1
answer
76
views
auxiliary do-support: do murder
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, page 98, reads
Auxiliary do was used more widely in earlier stages of the language,
and in certain genres one comes across archaic uses that go ...
- 2,177
2
votes
1
answer
68
views
What topicalizing role does "do" play in "Only now do we have what we need to move forward"?
In the sentence "Only now do we have what we need to move forward", the word do clearly has some emphasizing meaning.
But I would like a more precise understanding. Topicalization and fronting are ...
- 255
0
votes
1
answer
111
views
What does "Disturb not X" mean?
I already know what the word disturb means, but I do not understand what disturb not means. I’ve seen titles that start with this, like Disturb Not the Dream and Disturb Not the Sleep, etc.
What does ...
user331542
1
vote
1
answer
47
views
singular subject but verb changes depending on statement or question [closed]
I'm married to a non-native English speaker so I often get to correct his English. However, I can't always explain WHY one way is correct and the other is not.
I heard him ask a customer, "Where ...
1
vote
2
answers
14k
views
What Does He Do
I'm teaching conversational English to ESL students in Korea, but I don't have a strong background in grammar. I can tell them how we say things, but cannot always explain why it is that way. Today, ...
- 273
6
votes
1
answer
256
views
Where does compulsory "do support" come from?
We are familiar with the concept of "do support", where the verb do is used as an auxiliary verb. It can be found frequently in Shakespeare and before and it is claimed to derive from the ...
- 3,253
0
votes
1
answer
32
views
Is there any difference between the following two forms? [duplicate]
I'm reading right now a paper related to the state of Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) and Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) and I saw:
BEVs produce no pollutants such as particulates, (...)
What is the ...
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
5k
views
Is "Have you some water?" a grammatically correct sentence? [duplicate]
I believe it same as saying "Do you have some water?"
Is it?
- 125
0
votes
2
answers
99
views
How do you use "which" when asking a question
I am wondering how to state this question and do not know which one is correct so is #1 correct or #2 correct or are they both grammatically fine?
Ferrous metals contain which element?
Which element ...
- 19
1
vote
0
answers
186
views
"What doesn't she know how to cook" vs. "What does not she know how to cook" [duplicate]
Which of the following is correct? If A is correct why is B incorrect?
I am stumped, This sentence has popped up in my Hong Kong English class, don't know how to sort it out. Why does the one ...
- 11
2
votes
2
answers
68k
views
"go well" vs "went well" in the past tense [closed]
Which of the following is correct?
Did everything go well?
Did everything went well?
Intuitively I think it is 1). But one my colleagues asked me to explain the reasoning, and I am unable ...
-1
votes
2
answers
411
views
about sentence " I did start it "? [closed]
How did Paula Hawkins say "I did start it" in her novel The Girl on the Train?
I haven’t got much done today. I was supposed to sort out my application for the fabrics course at St. Martins; I did ...
4
votes
2
answers
208
views
Why can't "do" be left out of "I do not like apples"?
I like apples
is good grammar
I not like apples
is bad grammar. It must be
I do not like apples.
I'm looking for a concise explanation that I can give to an 11 year old learning English. I'm ...
- 143
0
votes
0
answers
10k
views
What's the difference between "I did eat" and "I ate"? [duplicate]
In short, what is the difference between the following sentences?
I did eat my lunch an hour ago.
I ate my lunch an hour ago.
They both are past tense.
Honestly, I'm confused between them.
- 119
0
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What's the correct one: "one did show up" or "one showed up"? [duplicate]
Is there any difference between these two sentences? Is one of them wrong?
Even if a ship did show up
Even if a ship showed up
- 19
3
votes
2
answers
14k
views
"Anyone Remember?" Or "Does Anyone Remember?", Which is Correct?
Which of these sentences is correct?
Anyone remember global dimming?
Does anyone remember global dimming?
If both are correct, where is each of them used?
- 63
11
votes
2
answers
27k
views
Is it wrong to use "Did you ever" in a sentence?
My German friend thinks that it is wrong to use "Did you ever" in the sentence "Did you ever fly a kite"? She is telling me it is wrong because you must use "Have" with "Ever", which would make the ...
- 395
1
vote
3
answers
1k
views
Not only "do trees provide" shade and beauty, but they also reduce carbon dioxide
Is this sentence:
Not only do trees provide shade and beauty, but they also reduce carbon dioxide.
as same as this one?
Trees not only provide shade and beauty, but also reduce carbon dioxide.
...
- 21
1
vote
2
answers
321
views
Verb Tense in an email response
When sending an email response, is it grammatically correct to say "I CHECKED your account, and I SEE/CAN SEE that..."
or, should it be "SAW"?
- 11
10
votes
1
answer
5k
views
When can I use "Only do ..." vs. when must I use "Only ..." without the "do"?
I'm writing a scientific paper and my supervisor (who is non-native speaker, whereas I am a native speaker) asked me to change this construct:
Only do males have a y chromosome.
to
Only males ...
- 201
4
votes
1
answer
458
views
Replacing "do you have" with "have you"
Found a similar question here, but with some minor differences. Is it archaic to use have you in sentences such as this:
John : I think we can see it with a specially crafted telescope.
Mary : ...
- 355
0
votes
2
answers
7k
views
The meaning of word "do" in “Yes, I do watch TV” [duplicate]
Suppose Alice asks Tom “Do you watch TV?”
Tom answers,
“Yes, I watch TV”
But Tom can also answer as follows
“Yes, I do watch TV.”
What is the difference between the two answers and the ...
- 101
4
votes
2
answers
49k
views
“I know“ or “I do know”
I have seen people using
I do know that
instead of
I know that
Is this usage correct?
- 161
4
votes
2
answers
97k
views
What’s the difference: "I didn’t do anything" vs "I haven’t done anything"
Imagine the following scenario:
I looked at a girl and gave her a smile. My friend next to me has put a serious look on his face and is staring at me. I turn to my friend and figured that I'd say one ...
- 43
4
votes
2
answers
529
views
Syntax of "What proof have we?"
I'm a German and our English teacher always told us not to use the German syntax in English. So here are a few examples to illustrate :
"What means this word?" -> correct : "What does that word mean?"...
- 43
4
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Use of "did" in an affirmative sentence before subject [duplicate]
I wrote the following sentence in an article:
Only in June it created repositories.
The editor corrected me:
Only in June did it create repositories.
What's the explanation for "did" in this ...
- 143
12
votes
4
answers
9k
views
What is the origin of auxiliary verbs?
When and why did we start using auxiliary verbs, particularly "do", to ask questions and make negatives?
- 121
1
vote
0
answers
33
views
Only...did I... / Only...I [duplicate]
Only after reading it carefully several times did I begin to make sense of the poem.
Only after reading it carefully several times I began making sense of the poem.
I know that the first one is ...
- 19
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Asking a "Do you have..." question without do-support
Is the following sentence correct English?
Have you the address?
The address in question is obvious to the person being asked.
It's normal to ask such a question as "Do you have the address?" or ...
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
7k
views
Is "He don't mean it" correct? [duplicate]
When I was reading the book Because of Winn-Dixie, on page 89 I found a paragraph as follows:
"Oh, lay off her," Dunlap said to Stevie. Then he turned to me. "He don't mean it," he said.
Can ...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
105
views
Do vs. did in "do you want to join us?" [duplicate]
What exactly is the difference in meaning between the questions
Do you want to join us?
and
Did you want to join us?
in the context of a group of people asking asking another person who ...
- 2,428
0
votes
2
answers
288
views
Difference between two question formats?
I have seen people using following two formats to form a question:
1) Why do people lie?
2) Why people lie?
The difference is, in the first one, there is an explicit use of do whereas the second ...
- 9
0
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Words like "do/does/did" to emphasize, but for "am/is/are"
So X said to Y:
I did tell you yesterday!
As far as I know, the word did there is to emphasize my point or tell him that I'm so sure I've told him the story yesterday. What I want to ask is, what'...
- 155
3
votes
2
answers
9k
views
Actually work vs Actually does work?
Is there any differences between following two sentences. I have seen both in various places and I can't really find a difference between them.
It actually works.
It actually does work.
Does the ...
- 65
0
votes
1
answer
13k
views
What are usages similar to "Need I say more?"?
I recall hearing usages like
Need I say more?
Need I remind you that ...?
instead of
Do I need to say more?
Do I need to remind you that ...?
Indeed, they sound better, at least to me. I ...
- 143
5
votes
1
answer
8k
views
Comparing negatives: "she seems not to know" vs. "she doesn't seem to know"
What is the difference in style and meaning between the following two:
She seems not to know.
She doesn't seem to know.
Is there a name to this type of construction?
- 319
0
votes
2
answers
110
views
To use ‘to’ or not is the question ;) [duplicate]
I believe the grammatically correct way is to omit the to before the verb (find in this case). Can someone confirm?
What you have to do instead is find a way to redefine the problem ...
I ask this ...
- 541
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Why does the verb 'have' require 'do' or 'got' and cannot be used alone?
When I began to study English, about 50 years ago, I was taught to ask, for instance, 'Have you a car?' and, if the answer was negative, to answer 'I have not a car.'
However, when I came back to ...
2
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Asking a question with "have" without do-support: "What symptoms has Anne?"
The context is that a doctor is asking about somebody's child's symptoms of influenza.
Is this question correct: "What symptoms has Anne?" If it's incorrect, then why?
It looks strange to me, I ...
- 131
-2
votes
3
answers
2k
views
"What keeps him going?" vs. "What does him keep going?" [duplicate]
Why is the grammatical structure of "What keeps him going?" right? I got a bit confused over this, when I realized that this structure fundamentally contradicts the basic rule I teach my students: "...
- 109
1
vote
1
answer
9k
views
"than do I" vs. "than I do" [duplicate]
I need grammatical explanations for the following two sentence structures:
The mistakes children make in learning to speak tell linguists more about how children learn language than do the ...
- 195
0
votes
1
answer
151
views
"Which browsers do support this?" or "Which browsers support this?" [duplicate]
What is the correct syntax:
"Which browsers do support this?"
"Which browsers support this?"
- 103
7
votes
3
answers
14k
views
Verb + not = do not verb ? What is the gramatical explanation?
I have long been puzzled by the usage of 'verb + not'. For example, Kennedy said, "... my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." The Bible ...
- 479
0
votes
0
answers
43
views
Is the expression "It don't" grammatically correct? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
The grammaticality of “that don’t impress me much”
It doesn't.
Usually, we say it this way, right? But I have seen some song lyrics using "it don't".
(Examples are ...
- 1
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
Can inversion be used without auxiliary verb?
Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
I don't like autumn to be honest, neither like I winter that's coming after it.
Can inversion be used in this way? Or does it requires auxiliary do?...
- 113
12
votes
2
answers
14k
views
How widely-accepted is "What do you got?" to Americans?
Watching A Stranger Among Us, I noticed that Melanie Griffith twice asked
"What do you got?"
I recognise this as an American construction which sounds strange to me — Brits invariably say either "...
- 133k
1
vote
0
answers
719
views
Interrogative sentences without auxiliary verbs and declarative sentences with auxiliary verbs [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is it OK to add a question mark to show inflection?
Sometimes, auxiliary verbs or helping verbs are not present in some interrogative sentences in some specific contexts where ...
- 917
10
votes
1
answer
242
views
"A child don't know anything" in Gadsby — grammatically right? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
The grammaticality of “that don't impress me much”
In Gadsby, which is almost grammatically not wrong at all, occurs just a solitary construction that I ...
- 2,332