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Thread: She might do.

  1. #1
    sunsunmoon is offline Member
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    Default She might do.

    John: Do you think she'll give us a call?
    Tom: She might do.
    Do you omit do?
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  2. #2
    TheParser is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: She might do.

    Quote Originally Posted by sunsunmoon View Post
    Do you omit do?


    NOT A TEACHER


    (1) Our wonderful friend Mr. Michael Swan (in his great Practical

    English Usage) writes:

    "In British English (but not [my emphasis] American), do can be used

    alone as a substitute verb after an auxiliary verb."

    The scholar's example:

    "Come and stay with us."

    "I may do."

    Americans would never speak like this. They would just say, "Thank

    you. I may." (So Americans would reply: She might.)

    But "She might do" would sound very strange and funny.)

    ***

    (2) Careful: "She might do" is American English in other

    circumstances:

    Mr. Jones: I am thinking of hiring Mona Jones as a model for

    our fashion show.

    Ms. Smith: Well, Mona is not that pretty, but I think that she

    might do. ("do" in this sentence is NOT a substitute verb. It is

    THE verb, meaning "to be acceptable.")





    Respectfully yours,


    James
    Last edited by TheParser; 24-May-2011 at 15:37.
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  3. #3
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    emsr2d2 is offline Moderator
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    Default Re: She might do.

    Quote Originally Posted by sunsunmoon View Post
    Do you omit do?
    It's fine with or without "do". Technically, "She might" is the grammatically correct sentence but you will hear "She might do" from, I would say, the vast majority of native British English speakers.
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  4. #4
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    5jj
    5jj is online now Moderator
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    Default Re: She might do.

    Quote Originally Posted by emsr2d2 View Post
    It's fine with or without "do". Technically, "She might" is the grammatically correct sentence
    That seems to suggest that 'she might do' is grammatically incorrect. I don't think that it is.
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  5. #5
    emsr2d2's Avatar
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    Default Re: She might do.

    Quote Originally Posted by fivejedjon View Post
    That seems to suggest that 'she might do' is grammatically incorrect. I don't think that it is.
    Apologies. Perhaps I should have said grammatically better sentence but that could just be my personal opinion. I would agree that "She might do" is also grammatically correct.
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  6. #6
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    Default Re: She might do.

    Quote Originally Posted by emsr2d2 View Post
    Apologies. Perhaps I should have said grammatically better sentence but that could just be my personal opinion. I would agree that "She might do" is also grammatically correct.
    Me too.
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