"Don't ..." vs "Don't you ..."

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TomKQT

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Apr 17, 2009
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Academic
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Czech
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Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Hello,
I'm curious - is there any difference in meaning, grammatical correctness or "feeling" in these two forms of imperative:

Don't do that again!
Don't you do that again!

Thank you in advance.
Tom
 

indonesia

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Aug 6, 2009
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British English
Home Country
England
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Indonesia
Don't do that again!
Don't you do that again!

I don't think there is any difference between the 2 sentences you gave to be honest.
The speaker and listener(s) would know who the command was aimed at, so the pronoun (in this case 'you') is often omitted as it is so obvious.
 

rlfwood

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
To my ear, at least, the second version is a little more emphatic.

Strong: Don't do that again!
Stronger: Don't you do that again!
Strongest: Don't you dare do that again!
 
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