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Examples:

  • "I did go home" instead of "I went home".
  • "We did make some tea" instead of "We made some tea".
  • "I do listen to future garage music" instead of "I listen to future garage music".

Is it correct?

StoneyB on hiatus
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nikkou
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3 Answers3

12

They are correct. They are used as emphasis, though; you should not use "I did go home." every time you mean "I went home."

For example, suppose you talk to a friend of yours, and the dialog is the following one.

Friend: Where did you go after school?
You: I went home.
Friend: Strange, Charlie told me you were going to the library.
You: I changed my mind. Shirley told me she was going to the library too and I didn't want to meet her there.
Friend: Michael saw you close to the library.
You: Going home, I turn right before reaching the library.
Friend: I don't believe you. Somebody took my book when I was at the library and I believe it was you.
You: Look, I did go home.

I did go home has the same meaning of I went home. It is used to put emphasis on the verb, such as to mean I really went home.

apaderno
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5

The sentences that you have posted are correct, but only in certain situations.
These sentences add emphasis to your statement.

All of these sentences:

I did go home
We did make some tea
I do listen to future garage music (little mistake here)

are usually used when giving a positive answer to a negative question.

For eg.

Do you not play football?
---> I do play football.

Siddhartha
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    Both your answer and @kiamlaluno's make sense to me, but each seems to paint an incomplete picture. To combine them, perhaps you could say the sentences with "do" or "did" are *contrary to the listener's expectation or belief*. –  Feb 03 '13 at 12:56
4

Do is used in this way only for emphasis, and when it occurs in speech it is stressed. It can also occur at the beginning of an imperative clause: ’Do go home now’, and can sometimes replace an entire imperative clause: ‘Do you think I should go home now?’ ‘Yes, do.’

(Listen needs to be followed by to, so it's I listen to garage music.)

Barrie England
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