Question about "do"

It's been a while since I posted, so I'm kind of reluctant to let my first
new
post be a question, rather than talking about my languages. But, hey.
That's
what this place is here for, right?
Right?

Oh, well.
Odd, random question, which would probably be obvious to me if I were to
spend
more time actually studying grammar rather than just playing with sounds...
What exactly is the word "do"?

"Do you want to go with me?"
"I do not want to."
"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.)

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.

Thoughts?

-- Erin Notagain --
No fun quote.

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