do - how does it work? do you use it?
Hello, I was wondering about the word "do"!
Like, I can't find a direct translation for it, or how it is used.
For example, "tu quiero'", does that mean "you want'" or is it "do you want'", basically, is the "do" in the sentence already included in most phrases, or is there some way to say it?
Kinda getting a bit confusing here, but, well what does "tu quiero'" by itself EXACTLY translate to? "you want'" or "do you want'", thanks guys!
12 Answers
James Santiago said:
And it's strange, because "I have no apples" is shorter and easier than "I don't have any apples," but the latter is much more common.
I remember reading a good explanation why "I don't have apples" have several advantages over "I have no apples", even though the latter is possible and grammatically correct, but I can't remember right now. I guess I'll have to re-read a couple of thousand pages again, until I it all sticks into my head.
In any case, there is always a good reason related to phonetics, culture, or else, but analysing these reasons is sometimes as hard as using them correctly,... or even more!
Irina said:
Hey since spanish doesn't have the word 'to' in front of verbs (for an example to eat is one word in spanish) do other languages have 'to' in front of verbs, or is english a particular language with that? There is nothing like that in russian...
Of course not! Russian has declensions and a very specific aspectual system, but English is, in this respect, morphologically much simpler, so it has to rely on other mechanisms, such as marking infinitives (unmarked in most languages in the world) when there is no tense and no imperative. It also strongly relies on word order and context.
lazarus1907 said:
James Santiago said:
the auxiliary verb do is a feature of English,...
It is s very smart, interesting and unique feature of English language that doesn't seem to exist, as such, in any other known language (certainly, not in other Germanic languages, like English). Specially, it announces questions, so you know before reaching the question mark: (you want something - do you want something).
The question is not "why do over 6000 languages not have the English auxiliary'", but "why is English the only one with this auxiliary'"
Good question, but I don't know the answer. That answer would also include why English uses that same "do" to form negatives, which I think is also unique. And it's strange, because "I have no apples" is shorter and easier than "I don't have any apples," but the latter is much more common.
Humans have come up with an amazing range of ways to communicate, all of them effective, in only 100,000 years or so. Imagine if we ever meet an intelligent alien species, how impossible their language may seem to us. I wonder if we'll even be able to master it at all. Maybe our machines will be smart enough to help us (or will have replaced us!) by then.
lazarus1907 said:
It is s very smart, interesting and unique feature of English language ...
Then, of course, there all those other uses of "to do" about which, I suspect, you are somewhat less enthusiastic. Wasn't it "to do" that resulted in about three pages of explanation in the OED? (I have it on CD so there are no page breaks indicated but it is certainly a long entry.)
I can no longer remember if most questions in Arabic use an introductory "hel" (to warn one that a question is in the offing) but, certainly, many do.
Hey since spanish doesn't have the word 'to' in front of verbs (for an example to eat is one word in spanish) do other languages have 'to' in front of verbs, or is english a particular language with that? There is nothing like that in russian...
lazarus1907 said:
Irina said:
Yeah I speak russian and there is no "do" in russian.
I can guarantee that there are over 100 languages (that I know) without anything close enough to the English auxiliary. If you read about how these auxiliaries came to be, you'll understand why it is such a peculiar and unlikely feature. If you even find another language with such an auxiliary, I want to know EVERYTHING about this language!
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Irina said:
Yeah I speak russian and there is no "do" in russian.
I can guarantee that there are over 100 languages (that I know) without anything close enough to the English auxiliary. If you read about how these auxiliaries came to be, you'll understand why it is such a peculiar and unlikely feature. If you even find another language with such an auxiliary, I want to know EVERYTHING about this language!
Yeah I speak russian and there is no "do" in russian.
lazarus1907 said:
James Santiago said:
the auxiliary verb do is a feature of English,...
It is s very smart, interesting and unique feature of English language that doesn't seem to exist, as such, in any other known language (certainly, not in Germanic languages). Specially, it announces questions, so you know before reaching the question mark: (you want something - do you want something).The question is not "why do over 6000 languages not have the English auxiliary'", but "why is English the only one with this auxiliary'"
>
Hahah yeah it does...
James Santiago said:
Dale, you must bid farewell to thinking in English if you want to speak Spanish. Forming a question by using the auxiliary verb do is a feature of English, but not of Spanish."Tu quiero'" means nothing in Spanish. Well, it means "Your I want'" "Do you want...'" would be "¿Quieres...'"
>
James Santiago said:
the auxiliary verb do is a feature of English,...
It is s very smart, interesting and unique feature of English language that doesn't seem to exist, as such, in any other known language (certainly, not in other Germanic languages, like English). Particularly, it announces questions, so you know before reaching the question mark: (you want something - do you want something). It compensates for deictic relationships, subjunctive, and many functions that used to be expressed with declensions. Formally, it is a masterpiece; syntactically, it adds complexity to the language.
The question is not "why do over 6000 languages not have the English auxiliary'", but "why is English the only one with this auxiliary'"
Alright, thanks everyone, really helping me learn here!
The word "do" used to form a question in Spanish does not translate. Instead, to let the listener know you are asking a question, you can switch the subject and the verb.
Example: Tú quieres means "you want", whereas ¿Quieres (tú)? Means "Do you want." Most Spanish speakers will leave off (tú) and just say ¿Quieres . . .?
Your example mixes the subject "you" (tú) with a verb with an ending for "I". (quiero)
Hope this helps
Dale, you must bid farewell to thinking in English if you want to speak Spanish. Forming a question by using the auxiliary verb do is a feature of English, but not of Spanish.
"Tu quiero'" means nothing in Spanish. Well, it means "Your I want'" "Do you want...'" would be "¿Quieres...'"
