# What is the "Saxon 'Do'" really called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2014, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-saxon-do-really-called/704679 "2014-11-15T05:59:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [November 21, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-saxon-do-really-called/704679/21 "2014-11-21T17:18:12Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > Other examples of what the OP is talking about are questions such as “Do you like the hedgehog?” rather than “Like you the hedgehog?” and “Where does she keep the orchidometer?” rather than “Where keeps she the orchidometer?” I wonder if those are actually what the OP is talking about, because they function differently. These examples–of what we call “[_do-support_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-support)”–serve the purpose of subject-verb inversion. (It’s also called “do-support” when it’s done for negation.) I think the OP in particular is more concerned with this “pointless modifier.” The above mentioned wiki article describes some of the other functions of _do_, such as in elliptical clauses, where it’s functional utility is manifest: _I don’t like fish, but my wife **does**. My brother didn’t finish high school, and neither **did** I. You don’t really want to go, **do** you._ Of course, it isn’t only _do_ that serves this purpose – it’s auxiliaries in general. English is just “forced” to use _do_ when there otherwise isn’t an auxiliary. _I can’t eat fish, but my wife **can**. My brother won’t finish high school, and neither **will** I. You shouldn’t really go, **should** you._ Etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-saxon-do-really-called/704679/22 "2014-11-22T00:23:37Z")
Considering > [@SciFiSam](#): > > I thought “do” as a modal was one of the few hangovers from Celtic languages in the UK. I remember this from university linguistic courses and a couple of threads on here that have refreshed that memory. > > I can’t find anything online to substantiate this, however, since Google claims “do” is Old English, but Old English is not entirely made up of Germanic terms and grammar (if it were, it’d be called Old German), so saying it’s Old English isn’t very helpful. Do, in the way it’s used in English, to form questions, negatives and emphatics, is certainly not a feature of any other Germanic language I know of. > > Anyway, “I did that” is emphatically (heh) different in meaning from “I did do that.” The latter is saying you did, even though there’s some expectation that you didn’t, and the “did” is usually stressed. and > [@](#): > > Kyoshi: Could well be. I only speak a tiny bit of Welsh, but as far as I know, in Welsh you have to use “do” whenever you use a present tense verb. > > For example, “I speak Welsh” is “dwi’n siarad Cymraeg”, literally “I do speak Welsh” I do declare this is a job for **Dr. Drake**. Do we have something like a Bat Symbol for him? Only with a dragon instead? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-saxon-do-really-called/704679/23 "2014-11-22T02:22:44Z")
Thanks for the page, **MLS**. > [@Kiyoshi](#): > > Could well be. I only speak a tiny bit of Welsh, but as far as I know, in Welsh you have to use “do” whenever you use a present tense verb. > > For example, “I speak Welsh” is “dwi’n siarad Cymraeg”, literally “I do speak Welsh” Literally, _dwi’n siarad Cymraeg_ is a contraction of _yd wyf fi yn siarad Cymraeg_, which (word by word) is **«particle» am I «particle» speaking Welsh**. So yes, it’s a periphrastic, but no, it’s not “do.” You can use “do” in that sense in the spoken language, but the basic construction relies on _bod_ “to be,” not _gwneud_, “to do.” “I spoke Welsh” could be: _siaradais i Gymraeg_ (word-by-word, **spoke I Welsh** ) _dw i wedi siarad Cymraeg_ (word-by-word, **am I after speaking Welsh** ) or _nes i siarad Cymraeg_ (word-by-word, **did I speaking Welsh** ) The last two have some variation: these are South Welsh colloquial forms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-saxon-do-really-called/704679.md?page=1)