He does

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

Moderator: Alan

Locked
patryn
Member
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 3:28 am
Status: Teacher of English

He does

Post by patryn »

Hello all,

couldn't find a previous topic about this on other sites and this one so consider this:

"Who teaches John piano on Sundays?"
"Michael does."

This sounds correct and all, but why does it sound incorrect when I try and use the following:
"Who teaches John piano on Sundays?"
"Michael teaches."
User avatar
Alan
Teacher/Moderator
Teacher/Moderator
Posts: 15237
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 7:56 pm
Status: Teacher of English
Location: Japan

Re: He does

Post by Alan »

'Teach' is a transitive verb and therefore requires an object (Michael teaches HIM, etc.)

However, when a verb is replaced by 'do' as a pro-form, objects and complements are not included.
Locked