Mexican bingo? Online Bingo? Greek to me.

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October 13th, 2016 at 12:55:00 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: Fleastiff
Have a good time and Do have a good time have different meanings.


The simple exchange in English
Do you like chicken?
No I don't like chicken.

Is translated in Spanish without translating the meaningless "do"
Te gusta el pollo?
No, no me gusta el pollo.

In archaic English you can omit the "meaningless do"
"Likest thou chicken?"
"I like it not!"

The word was adopted into English after the Norman invasion in 1066. In Old English they would use negative particles ("Hie ne wendon").
In modern English that sentence would be "They did not think".

The word "did" is meaningless and is not translated in Spanish (or probably in any Romance language).
"No creían que"

In your example the "do" is not meaningless but is used for emphasis
"Have a good time" vs "Do have a good time"
October 13th, 2016 at 1:37:23 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Nothing illustrates the meaninglessness of the meaningless do quite as using the verb "to do" in a sentence:

"How do you do this?" or "How did you do this?"

Or my favorite, when asking how someone is, "How do you do?"
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
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