- Regular ‘Do’ is used as an auxiliary verb to make questions in simple tenses and to make negatives – basically the use that you know.
Eg:
Do you need a car?
Yes I do/No I don’t.
I went to work today.
I didn’t go to work today.
- Emphatic do: Use ‘do’ emphatically when there is a situation in which you feel you need to stress or confirm something – maybe to counter something previously said. If you overuse “do” and use it when you don’t intend to emphasise something or it isn’t grammatically necessary, your speech will sound a little unnatural or at least certainly not like a native speaker.
“Do you like oysters?”
“No (I don’t).
But I do like other shellfish.”
“Do you need a car now you live next to the station?”
“Yes I do need a car. My customers live in places difficult to reach by public transport.”
“Annamia you don’t really like the conservative leadership candidates, do you?””
“No but I do like Rory Stewart. He appeals to me.”
“Peter; you need to leave early this afternoon, don’t you?” “Yes I do but I do need to finish this report first so could you leave me alone now please?”