I use “that’ll do” in circumstances where I acknowledge that something is sufficient. What is a formal alternative for this phrase, that can take place in a formal letter or a conversation ? Context: There’s a party that asked for a couple of screenshots from my PC. I have the screenshots but due to a … Read more
In conversation sometimes I’ll say something like this: What’s that do? which uses “s” as a contraction for “does”. Is this a “real” contraction, or is it incorrect usage of a contraction? Answer According to Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com, “what’s” is short for: “what is” (What’s the matter?) “what has” (What’s happened to the car?) “what … Read more
Should there be a ‘do’ in this sentence? “Trying to figure out what (do) I enjoy doing.” Thank you in advance! Answer The phenomenon you’re asking about is Do-support. It happens with questions when there’s no other auxiliary, but not with embedded clauses, even when they would seem like they would be questions: I enjoy … Read more
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, one student asked about the phrase: “What does he do?” They wanted to know why we use “do” at … Read more
Shouldn’t verbs after “to do” always be infinitive? If so, then what’s the purpose of adding the suffix “-s” ? Image from Middle Earth- Shadow of Mordor || Gollum says: Don’t hurts us! Answer Gollum’s speech is consistently shown as non-standard. He regularly adds an additional “-es” to already plural words (eg “pocketses”). This is … Read more
I know that one can say “I did take the money” in order to stress the action. For instance, “You didn’t take the money, did you?” – “I did take the money! I told you already so many times.” But when is it allowed in who-questions, e.g. “Who did take the money?” Answer Bruce: The … Read more
I am from Singapore. I have heard many Singaporeans use imperative sentences with emphatic ‘do’ when they make requests or ask for something to be done a certain way. For example, they would say something like: -Do get back to me once you have seen my email. -Do take a seat and we will get … Read more
In a Twin Peaks episode you can hear the following question: “So, Mr. Wheeler, what is it exactly you do do?”. It seems to me quite weird. Is it correct? I suppose that the purpose of the second do isn’t to emphasize something. Answer Asking ‘what is it exactly you do do? Is a way … Read more
Good morning everyone, I am an English learner and I am reading “Dracula” by Bram Stoker. I have a little question regarding this sentence: “Oh, do forgive me for being so rude” pronounced by Jonathan. What’s the difference between the same sentence without the verb “do“? I mean “Oh, do forgive me for being so … Read more
In the UK parliament and also many other parliaments, there is an adjournment debate. It is a debate on the motion, "That this House do now adjourn." I assume that this is an example of using "do" (or "does" in 3rd person singular) in a positive sentence for emphasis. The phrase "That this House do … Read more
