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Literary notes about do (AI summary)

The word "do" serves as a remarkably versatile tool in literature, functioning in various capacities from acting as an auxiliary verb to emphasizing an action. In many texts, "do" supports negation or affirmation, as in the simple declaration “I do not know” found in both introspective and critical contexts ([1], [2]). It also intensifies statements or commands, lending urgency to imperatives like “do that which I bid thee” ([3]) or to commitments such as “I will do all that I can” ([4]). In dialogue, "do" is employed to frame questions and assert meanings, as seen in inquiries like “What do you mean?” ([5]) or when it underscores potential and possibility in statements like “I can go anywhere, do anything” ([6]). This flexibility across genres and eras—from classical texts to modern novels—demonstrates not only its grammatical function but also its expressive power in conveying tone, mood, and intent.
  1. “I do not know.
    — from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova
  2. A responds, "I do not know, but it generally does rain after such a sunset."
    — from How We Think by John Dewey
  3. And she saddled an ass, and commanded her servant: Drive, and make haste, make no stay in going: And do that which I bid thee.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  4. I will do all that I can to injure you.
    — from Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac
  5. Springing to her feet, she cried out angrily: “What do you mean?
    — from The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
  6. The horses are ready; I can go anywhere, do anything," he said, looking ready to fly to the ends of the earth.
    — from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott

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