do-support

What topicalizing role does “do” play in “Only now do we have what we need to move forward”?

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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 somehow involved . Is do turning the verb have into the topic? But do is not a placeholder in fronted position … Read more

What Does He Do

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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

She invited me to go with them, which I’d quite like to (do)

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The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language , in Chapter 17 Deixis and anaphora, says (Page 1526): Is [iv] well-formed? How about adding do after to as follows? She invited me to go with them, which I’d quite like to do. Is the original version (without do) inferior to the do-version? Or are they equally … Read more

“Anyone Remember?” Or “Does Anyone Remember?”, Which is Correct?

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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? Answer Only the second is grammatically correct: Does anyone remember global dimming? In order to write the first, you would have to make “anyone” the one being addressed, in which … Read more

Is it wrong to use “Did you ever” in a sentence?

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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 sentence “Have you ever flown a kite?”. My argument is that “ever” is just an … Read more

Replacing “do you have” with “have you”

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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 : Have you such a telescope? instead of Mary : Do you have such a telescope? Is it still … Read more