Word/Phrase Emphasis

[jaF0]

I hear it often. I read it more often. I catch myself doing it. I hate it.


One example:


'They did say ...'

'They said ... '


Which do you prefer? I prefer the second.

 

[SimonDoom]

In most cases you would use the second. You would use the first in cases where for whatever reasons you wanted to emphasize the word "did."

 

[Hypoxia]

Yes, it's a matter of your desired emphasis, and word rhythm. I've used the did-form at times. "And they did fuck." Let readers decide where the emphasis lies.

 

[jaF0]

Caught myself on another one this morning. Started out with 'I did find ... ', but came to my senses and corrected to 'I found ... '.

 

[OneAuthor]

Caught myself on another one this morning. Started out with 'I did find ... ', but came to my senses and corrected to 'I found ... '.

For me, I mostly use "did" to contrast the past with the present.

"I did think of him as peculiar, but have now started to understand his quirks."

 

[jaF0]

For me, I mostly use "did" to contrast the past with the present.

"I did think of him as peculiar, but have now started to understand his quirks."

I would state that as, ' I used to think of him as ... '.

 

[OneAuthor]

I would state that as, ' I used to think of him as ... '.

I sometimes do this as well, but variety is the spice of life.

 

[jaF0]

There would be no one to hunt.

There would be no one to hunt.



Given those alone, with little or no other context, how would a reader know which one meant there would be no hunters and which meant there would be no fugitives/prey? Could be in a story of a post apocalyptic world for example, or a crime story of fugitive recovery.

 

[jehoram]

For me, I mostly use "did" to contrast the past with the present.

"I did think of him as peculiar, but have now started to understand his quirks."

Or for emphasis:

"Well, you did say that you were going to get it done" carries more stress than "Well, you said that you were going to get it done." It's like an answer to "I didn't say I was going to do that."

 

[KeithD]

Depends on the content use. There are times when the emphasis is effective. English is a dynamic language; fiction isn't a training manual.

 

[Handley_Page]

I hear it often. I read it more often. I catch myself doing it. I hate it.

One example:
'They did say ...'
'They said ... '

Which do you prefer? I prefer the second.

I think it depends upon the situation.
The first one would be used where the speaker is reporting to a third party what had transpired (such as a Committee Meeting).
The second example might be a report to the listener what he'd been told to report.