Name of grammatical construction "Do ...?"

English grammar and usage issues

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sifaka
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Posts: 4
Joined: 31 May 2008, 15:08

Name of grammatical construction "Do ...?"

Unread post by sifaka »

I have to explain to my students why we say "She has a brown jacket." (We use the verb to have in third person present tense.) But we say "Does she have a brown jacket?" (We use the infinitive to have because it's a question.) What is the name for the grammatical construction "Do you +infinitive?" and "Does he +infinitive?" What do we call it?
It happens with future questions too: "Are you going to +infinitive?", and "Will they +infinitive?". What is that structure called? How can I best explain it to them? They are Spanish speakers.
Many thanks,
Matt
Rina
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Posts: 16
Joined: 02 Jun 2008, 07:03

Re: Name of grammatical construction "Do ...?"

Unread post by Rina »

Hi

I tell my students: He, she , it a s must fit.
If we have a question we must use does with he , she, it . Since there is a s in does we don't a onther s !
sifaka
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Posts: 4
Joined: 31 May 2008, 15:08

Re: Name of grammatical construction "Do ...?"

Unread post by sifaka »

Thank you Rina!
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