[Grammar] Have you no heart?

[atabitaraf]

1. Is it a formal question to say, "Have you no heart?" ?

2. I'll be grateful if you tell me if my punctuation is correct or not.

 

[emsr2d2]

Before the introduction/adoption of the auxiliary use of "do", your question would have been perfectly normal.

Have you no heart? (Once used as a matter of course.)
Do you have no heart? (Modern usage)
Don't you have a heart? (Modern usage)

You might note, when you have read through many questions on this forum, that Piscean commonly asks "Have you a question for us?" Many (most?) of the other native speakers use "Do you have a question for us?"

 

[atabitaraf]

When we do not have an auxiliary verb, we use do/does/did to make a question. And here 'have' is not an auxiliary verb, so I thought the only correct question could be 'Do you have a/any heart?'

I think you mean, when we have 'have/has' we can make the question without do/does/did, am I right?

 

[emsr2d2]

You can format any question in the way your example did but, these days, it's uncommon.

 

[atabitaraf]

Before the introduction/adoption of the auxiliary use of "do", your question would have been perfectly normal.

Have you no heart? (Once used as a matter of course.)
Do you have no heart? (Modern usage)
Don't you have a heart? (Modern usage)

You might note, when you have read through many questions on this forum, that Piscean commonly asks "Have you a question for us?" Many (most?) of the other native speakers use "Do you have a question for us?"

May I say that the question without do/does/did, 'Have you no heart?' is more of the British type?
Since in the American use, using do/does/did as an auxiliary verb sounds more common to us.

 

[emsr2d2]

No. I am a speaker of British English (as is Piscean) and I invariably use the construction with the auxiliary "Do/Does".

 

[emsr2d2]

It depends on my audience. On this forum, I'm more likely to ask "Do you have a question for us?" In everyday, colloquial English, I'd ask "Have you got a cat/any kids/a tenner I can borrow?"

 

[Rover_KE]

1. Is it a formal question to say, "Have you no heart?" ?

2. I'll be grateful if you tell me if my punctuation is correct or not.

The Chicago Manual of Style (which not everybody subscribes to) rules that a single terminal punctuation mark ends the sentence.

Did you just ask, "Why me?"

 

[Tdol]

It's at the formal end of the spectrum, but not exceptionally so.

It could also be used to express anger or strong emotion without formality.

 

[Barb_D]

It depends on my audience. On this forum, I'm more likely to ask "Do you have a question for us?" In everyday, colloquial English, I'd ask "Have you got a cat/any kids/a tenner I can borrow?"

You can certainly borrow my kids, but I'm keeping my cats.

 

[emsr2d2]

I very nearly edited my post to make "a tenner I can borrow" the first example but decided my original was more amusing, if a tad unclear. ;-)