Re: Question about "do"

 --- Erin Notagain skrzypszy:

> "What do you want to do?" (in this sentence, the second "do" is quite
> obviously a verb, but it just doesn't... seem to be one in the others.)
Indeed, and that is simply because these are two different usages (is that a
word?) of the verb "do". In the first case, "do" is used like some kind of
neutral auxiliary verb (and thus can be replaced with "will", "can", "must",
"may", etc.), while in the latter case it means "perform an action".

> It seems that in many cases, "do" could be left out and still get the point
> across (however incorrect the grammar may be) -- "You want to go with me?"
> "I not want to." -- but it's not always the case: "What you want to do?"
> makes sense; "What you want to?" loses some of the meaning.
Yes, because the first two sentences are examples of "do" used as an auxiliary
verb, which is not the case in the third sentence.

Dutch has the same thing with "gaan". Its standard meaning is "to go", but its
use as an auxiliary verb meaning "will, shall" is gaining more and more
popularity. Certain Dutch dialects also use "doen" (to do) as an auxiliary from
time to time, in the way English does.

Jan

=====
"Originality is the art of concealing your source." - Franklin P. Jones

________________________________________________________________________
Want to chat instantly with your online friends?  Get the FREE Yahoo!
Messenger http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/

Reply