Episode 164: Somewhere in the Middle
The History of English Podcast
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What Do You See in the Elizabethan Period?
During the Elizabethan period speakers could go either way. The versions with do were emerging as the more accepted forms and would become the standard forms over the next century. In Elizabeth's poem there are no questions but she does make several negative statements. And when she does that she prefers the older negative form without the use of do. But in the 1500s people also used the word do when they were just making a simple affirmative statement.
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