----- Original Message -----
From: "E. Notagain" <ecg321@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 7:38 AM
Subject: 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's an auxiliary verb in the first case.
> 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.
Like 'have', do can function as auxilliary verb, in interrogatives and
negatives, or as a normal verb.
> Thoughts?
>
> -- Erin Notagain --
> No fun quote.
>