What’s wrong with this sentence?
Where did you be yesterday?
These sorts of sentences have been bothering me for some time. Can someone explain to me why I cannot say sentences like one in the example?
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1 Answer
It is possible that there is some variant of English that allows this - I don't know.
My intuition as a native speaker is that "to do" refers to an action. The verb "to be" does not describe an action, it describes a state of existence. "Being" is not something you can "do".
answered Nov 6, 2020 at 1:35
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The writers of the Crossroads scripts famously gave Benny the phrase "do be" as part of his characterisation as a poorly educated simpleton. I assume that they took it from some knowledge of rural West Midlands dialect but which particular part of the West Midlands I'm not sure. Might be Herefordshire or Worcestershire.– BoldBenNov 6, 2020 at 2:13