# Use Of The Word "DO" To Mean "Will You?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036 "2009-05-11T15:21:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/1 "2009-05-11T15:21:01Z")
I noticed in songs like the Beatles “Love Me Do,” and “Daisy Bell” (Daisy, Daisy give me your answer do), the word “do,” seems to mean “Will you.” Is this correct? Or have I been interpreting it wrong. Also where does this come from. I’m assuming it’s an English thing, 'cause of the Beatles usage ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/2 "2009-05-11T15:24:59Z")
I think it is not asking, it is telling. It’s a rephrasing of the imperative. Do this! -\> This, do! -\> this do. Do this! -\> Do love me -\> Love me, do! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/3 "2009-05-11T15:45:45Z")
That. Think of Hyacinth Bouquet: “Richard, _do_ try to stay away from the mud!” ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/4 "2009-05-11T15:49:19Z")
Yes, it’s imperative (command), not interrogative (question). In normal speech, one would simply say “love me” or “give me your answer.” The word “do” is occasionally added for emphasis (“do make sure it’s done correctly”) or poetic/stylistic effect (“oh, do tell how it happened”). ETA: If by “English” you mean British as opposed to American, not really. It may be more common in British usage, but it’s not unfamiliar to Americans. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/5 "2009-05-11T15:52:54Z")
> [@muttrox](#): > > I think it is not asking, it is telling. It’s a rephrasing of the imperative. > > Do this! -\> This, do! -\> this do. > Do this! -\> Do love me -\> Love me, do! Exactly. It’s an imperative, as in: “_Do be careful when you strip the live 120 volt wires._” Incidentally, this is the only case where _BE_ in English takes do-support. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/6 "2009-05-11T17:05:20Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Think of Hyacinth Bouquet: “Richard, _do_ try to stay away from the mud!” I had absolutely no problem hearing that line in my head voiced with Patricia Routledge’s Hyacinth. I fear I have officially watched too many reruns of ‘Keeping Up Apperances’. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/7 "2009-05-11T17:13:09Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Exactly. It’s an imperative, as in: “_Do be careful when you strip the live 120 volt wires._” > > Incidentally, this is the only case where _BE_ in English takes do-support. More precisely, it’s an example of the emphatic “do,” which, as the name suggests, provides emphasis for the verb following. “Do be careful” is a stronger version of “be careful.” ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/8 "2009-05-11T17:31:52Z")
It sounds very British (English?) to my ears. I don’t know any Americans who use it much, and it sounds British when used at the start of a sentence (“Do write me when you get there” and _very_ British (and old-fashioned, almost stereotypically British) at the end of a sentence (“Write me when you get there, do.”) Kind of like “Don’t let’s” which is another structure that is foreign-sounding to most Americans – e.g. Alexandra Fuller’s book _Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight_. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/9 "2009-05-11T23:53:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > More precisely, it’s an example of the emphatic “do,” which, as the name suggests, provides emphasis for the verb following. “Do be careful” is a stronger version of “be careful.” I think that’s obvious. It’s still grammatically an imperative. That is to say, in answer to the OP, it _is_ indeed correct. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/10 "2009-05-12T00:08:28Z")
[Bobby Hill] You said “You I like” instead of “I like you.” [/Bobby Hill] ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/11 "2009-05-12T01:11:14Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I think that’s obvious. It’s still grammatically an imperative. That is to say, in answer to the OP, it _is_ indeed correct. I do agree that it’s correct-- I’m just pointing out the name for the construction, in case people want to look up more information on the [emphatic “do”](http://www.eisu2.bham.ac.uk/johnstf/revis042.htm). While it may be obvious to you, it’s not an obvious concept to everyone, especially people for whom English is not their native language. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/12 "2009-05-12T01:21:06Z")
Missed edit: In case there’s any confusion, I’m not implying that **Markxxx** is not a native speaker, just that we have many readers here, and these points of grammar may not be immediately obvious to all. After all, I would also say the fact that it’s an imperative seems obvious to me, but, well, clearly it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/13 "2009-05-12T02:51:22Z")
I just looked in the OED to see if it mentions this use of “do,” and it’s definition 30.b. To me it doesn’t sound particularly British, just old-fashioned. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/14 "2009-05-12T14:26:43Z")
The thing that sounds strange is the “do” being at the end of the sentence. Do be careful at the mine! ok Be careful at the mine do! ??? I always took the Beatles lyric as poetic license. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/15 "2009-05-12T14:57:02Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I just looked in the OED to see if it mentions this use of “do,” and it’s definition 30.b. To me it doesn’t sound particularly British, just old-fashioned. It was probably Paul McCartney echoing the style of old British music hall songs that his dad was fond of. ---
**Author:** ![Sheepish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@Sheepish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sheepish)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/16 "2009-05-13T00:34:32Z")
…also it handily rhymes with i love you. If it had been left without do, it probably would have been more difficult to find a catchy, convenient rhyme Love, love me [silence for one beat] You know I love … um … thee ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/17 "2009-05-13T00:37:58Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I noticed in songs like the Beatles “Love Me Do,” and “Daisy Bell” (Daisy, Daisy give me your answer do), the word “do,” seems to mean “Will you.” > > Is this correct? Or have I been interpreting it wrong. Also where does this come from. I’m assuming it’s an English thing, 'cause of the Beatles usage Those are not question, they are commands. Way back when, Shakespeare’s time perhaps, English had an inverted order of S-V-O, having once been S-O-V, or so I recall reading in Steven Pinker somewhere. We still can understand it and use it in some cases ofr special emphasis. It is not a British thing only, it is poetic license thing. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/18 "2009-05-13T00:42:05Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > I > Kind of like “Don’t let’s” which is another structure that is foreign-sounding to most Americans – e.g. Alexandra Fuller’s book _Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight_. That is British? I thought maybe it is Southern, because of the title/lyrics to a song I have been wracking my brains for ages trying to remember, it only coming to me just last night! “Don’t let’s start” by the dBs of Athens Georgia. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-do-to-mean-will-you/496036/19 "2009-05-13T00:46:50Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > The thing that sounds strange is the “do” being at the end of the sentence. > > Do be careful at the mine! ok > Be careful at the mine do! ??? > > I always took the Beatles lyric as poetic license. I tis not a matter of simply putting it at the end of any sentence In this case, you are in the wrong case or voice or something to do this. But Frank Sinatra sang, without being careful: “Do be do be do”