What have I do to make you love me

[towcats1]

"What have I do to make you love me". Is it equal to "What can I do to make you love me"? Why 'have' instead of 'can'?

 

[bhaisahab]

It's wrong. You could say "What have I to do to make you love me?"

 

[towcats1]

It's wrong. You could say "What have I to do to make you love me?"

It's a song Blue feat. Elton John and Kenny G

What have I got to do to make you love me
What have I got to do to make you care
What do I do when lightning strikes me
And I wake to find that you're not there
What have I do to make you want me
What have I got to do to be heard
What do I say when it's all over
And sorry seems to be the hardest word

It's sad, so sad
It's a sad, sad situation
And it's getting more and more absurd
It's sad, so sad
Why can't we talk it over
Oh it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word

What have I do to make you want me
What have I got to do to be heard
What do I say when it's all over
And sorry seems to be the hardest word

It's sad, so sad
It's a sad, sad situation
And it's getting more and more absurd
It's sad, so sad
Why can't we talk it over
Oh it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word

What have I do to make you love me
What have I got to do to be heard
What do I do when lightning strikes me
What have I got to do
What have I got to do
When sorry seems to be the hardest word

 

[bhaisahab]

That doesn't change the fact that it's wrong.

 

[jawgar]

I think it was wrong because of a typo. If the sentence intended was "What have I to do to make ...." then:-

More common usage is "What do I have to do..." or "What have I got to do..."

"What can I do... " weakens the mandatory sense from "have to do" and substitutes a sense of what is possible "can do".

 

[BobK]

:up: And I suspect the lyrics were mistranscribed; as I remember Elton John sang 'What've I gotta do to make you love me?

b