Questions tagged [do-support]
The do-support tag has no usage guidance.
69
questions
1
vote
1answer
48 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
votes
1answer
56 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
65 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
29 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
2answers
8k 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, ...
2
votes
1answer
65 views
Where does compulsory do support come from?
We are familiar with the concept of "do support", where the verb do is used as a modal verb. It can be found frequently in Shakespeare and before and it is claimed to derive from the Celtic languages ...
0
votes
1answer
30 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
vote
1answer
1k views
Is “Have you some water?” a grammatically correct sentence? [duplicate]
I believe it same as saying "Do you have some water?"
Is it?
0
votes
2answers
88 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 ...
1
vote
0answers
101 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
33k views
“go well” vs “went well” in the past tense
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
2answers
224 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
2answers
186 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
6k 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.
0
votes
1answer
959 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
-1
votes
3answers
7k views
Did I have to / Do I have to? [closed]
What is the difference between
Did I have to...(do something)
and
Do I have to...(do something)
I think "Did I have to..." use when I refer something in the past
but I not sure is it correct.
...
1
vote
2answers
8k 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?
6
votes
2answers
16k 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 ...
1
vote
3answers
629 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.
...
1
vote
2answers
164 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"?
9
votes
1answer
3k 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 ...
4
votes
1answer
349 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 : ...
0
votes
2answers
4k 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
36k 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?
2
votes
2answers
71k 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
488 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?"...
4
votes
1answer
2k 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 ...
11
votes
4answers
7k 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?
1
vote
0answers
30 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
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 ...
1
vote
2answers
5k 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
98 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
227 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 ...
0
votes
3answers
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'...
3
votes
2answers
6k 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
12k 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
6k 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?
0
votes
2answers
105 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
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
1answer
1k 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 ...
-2
votes
3answers
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: "...
0
votes
1answer
6k 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
123 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?"
7
votes
3answers
11k 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
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
vote
2answers
882 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?...
11
votes
2answers
11k 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 "...
1
vote
0answers
518 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 ...
10
votes
1answer
238 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
11k views
“Allows not” vs. “does not allow”
Which should I use: allows not or does not allow?
Can I use both?
Are there verbs that does not allow the two forms?
