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| {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Do''-support}} | {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Do''-support}} | ||
| The term '''do-support''' or ''do-insertion'' refers to the |
The term '''do-support''' or ''do-insertion'' refers to the appearance of the ] ''do'' (''did'', ''does'') in negative or interrogative clauses in English that do not contain another auxiliary verb. It appears as though the addition of ''do'' "supports" the inclusion of the negation ''not'' or the formulation of the question. In such cases, ''do'' does not add any discernible meaning to the sentence, but rather it serves a purely supportive role insofar as it allows for the use of other grammatical constructions (e.g. negation, question formation). One can note further that ''do'' also functions as a main verb (e.g. ''He did the job''); when it appears as a main verb, ''do'' is not an instance of do-support. | ||
| ==Examples== | ==Examples== | ||
Revision as of 16:29, 13 September 2012
The term do-support or do-insertion refers to the appearance of the auxiliary verb do (did, does) in negative or interrogative clauses in English that do not contain another auxiliary verb. It appears as though the addition of do "supports" the inclusion of the negation not or the formulation of the question. In such cases, do does not add any discernible meaning to the sentence, but rather it serves a purely supportive role insofar as it allows for the use of other grammatical constructions (e.g. negation, question formation). One can note further that do also functions as a main verb (e.g. He did the job); when it appears as a main verb, do is not an instance of do-support.
Examples
The presence of an auxiliary verb allows subject-auxiliary inversion and the appearance of the negation not, e.g.
- a. He will laugh.
- b. Will he laugh? - Subject-auxiliary inversion occurs to form a yes/no-question.
- c. He will not laugh. - The auxiliary verb will allows the appearance of the negation not.
If, however, an auxiliary verb is not present, subject-verb inversion is generally disallowed and the negation not cannot appear, e.g.
- a. He laughed.
- b. *Laughed he? - Subject-verb inversion is not possible because the one verb is not an auxiliary verb.
- c. *He laughed not. - The negation not cannot appear because the one verb is not an auxiliary verb.
To render such sentences correctly, the auxiliary verb do is used as "support", e.g.
- d. Did he laugh? - Inversion is possible with the auxiliary verb did.
- e. He did not laugh. - The negation can appear with the auxiliary did.
A second example illustrates the phenomenon further:
- a. She helps.
- b. *Helps she? - Subject-verb inversion is not possible because the one verb is not an auxiliary verb.
- c. *She helps not. - The negation not cannot appear because the one verb is not an auxiliary verb.
- d. Does she help? - Inversion is possible with the auxiliary verb does.
- e. She does not help. - The negation not can appear with the auxiliary verb does.
Questions further
So-called wh-questions, containing an interrogative word such as who, what, when, where, why, how, or the like, show the same pattern of subject-auxiliary inversion seen in yes-no questions, and use similar do-support.
- a. Jean flirted with Yuri?
- b. *Why flirted Jean with Yuri? - wh-question requires inversion, but no auxiliary is present to license the inversion.
- c. Why did Jean flirt with Yuri? - The presence of the auxiliary did licenses inversion.
Tag questions are also formed with a copy of the first auxiliary and a pronoun version of the sentence's subject at the end of the sentence. As with other questions, sentences that contain no other auxiliary use do-support, e.g.
- d. Jean flirted with Yuri, didn't he?
Auxiliary verb do vs. main verb do
While the English word do may also serve as a main verb, do-support refers only to the presence of do as an auxiliary, where another verb serves as the main verb. The distinction is illustrated well with sentences that contain both auxiliary do and main verb do, e.g.
- a. They did the laundry on Sunday? - did is a main verb
- b. Did they do the laundry on Sunday? - did is an auxiliary verb and do is a main verb.
- c. They did not do the laundry on Sunday. - did is an auxiliary verb and do is a main verb.
Auxiliary verb do used for emphasis
In addition to appearing in interrogative clauses and with the negation not (or n't), auxiliary verb do also appears for emphasis, for instance to establish a contrast or to express a correction, e.g.
- Person A says: Did Bill do his homework?
- Person B responds: Yes, he did do his homework. - Auxiliary verb did appears to emphasize the positive answer, which may be unexpected.
- Person A says: Bill didn't call.
- Person B responds: He did too call. - Auxiliary verb did appears to help emphasize B's correction of A's statement.
Meaning contribution
When the auxiliary verb do appears as just illustrated, it does not contribute in any obvious way to the meaning of the sentence, so it is sometimes called a dummy auxiliary. Whether this is the correct way to understand the role of auxiliary do in such cases is debatable, however. From a diachronic point of view, the auxiliary do may have been an aspect marker, which means it did originally convey functional meaning, i.e. aspectual meaning.
See also
References
- ^ Kaplan, Jeffrey P. (1989), English Grammar: Principles and Facts, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
- ^ Huddleston, Rodney D. (2005). A Student's Introduction To English Grammar. Cambridge U Press.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthor=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ DeCapua, Andrea (2008). Grammar for Teachers. Springer.
- ^ Heidinger, Virginia (1984). Analyzing Syntax and Semantics. Gallaudet U Press.
- Klammer, Thomas P. (2006). Analyzing English Grammar. Pearson/Longman.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthor=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Traugott, Elizabeth Closs (1980), Linguistics for Students of Literature, San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
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