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We can use helping verbs like do, does, and did before verbs for emphasis, as in:

He knows the truth.
He does know the truth. (More emphatic)

But does the same rule apply to information questions? As in

Who knows the truth?
Who does know the truth?

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  • 2
    Why wouldn't it apply to that?
    – Lambie
    Commented Jan 31 at 16:59
  • @Lambie well, my friend insists that we never use helping verbs after 'who' unless it's the objective form, like 'Who does he ask for address?' and the subjective form is only 'Who asks for the address?' But not 'Who does ask for the address?' I know they have totally different structure with different meanings though.
    – Englishfreak
    Commented Jan 31 at 17:09
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    Ok, first, your friend is mistaken. 1) "Who does he ask for addresses or an address [when he needs them]? Now. imagine some office procedure. 2) One person could say: Who does ask for the address [when clients call]? ask for an address or addresses and ask someone for an address or addresses.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jan 31 at 17:14
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    "Who knows [a fact]? You don't? Or you? Well who does know?"
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jan 31 at 17:21
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    The point about this supportive "do" is that it places stress on the positive or negative polarity of the clause. In your example, there is an emphatic positive. The unemphatic version is "Who knows the truth?"
    – BillJ
    Commented Jan 31 at 18:27

1 Answer 1

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Perhaps "emphasis" isn't the most helpful word for OP to use here. The example statement...

1: He does know the truth

...would be unlikely (but not impossible) if it was simply intended to convey the "emphasis" of, for example,...

2: He really knows the truth! (there's absolutely no doubt about that!)

Normally, the "do-support" of #1 above refutes / contradicts some earlier assertion, such as...

3a: "I doubt if even John knows the truth of the matter."
3b: "You're mistaken. He does know the truth."

Note that the word does will always carry heavy stress in such contexts.

By the same token, in OP's question context, including do-support, as...

4: Who does know the truth?

...would normally only occur in contexts where the speaker has just been told that someone he thought might know the truth actually doesn't - equivalent to...

5: If what I previously thought isn't true, then what is true?

OR

6a: "It's no use asking me. I don't have a clue!"
6b: "Who does know the truth, then?"

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    John: Mary doesn't know the truth. Sam: But she does know the truth. And that kind of construction is very used.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jan 31 at 18:38
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    Surely that's just another an example of the specific sub-type of "emphasis" I'm calling refutation, illustrated by my examples #3a/#3b above.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jan 31 at 19:02
  • I think your first statement is misleading for an ELL OP.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jan 31 at 19:03
  • @Lambie: Wot? You think the difference between emphasis and refutation / contradiction is too complicated for someone learning English? Personally, I think the first sentence of my answer here is as good as anything I've ever written on ELL! :)
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Feb 1 at 1:41
  • Let's not confuse grammar (emphatic use of an auxiliary) with what context it is used in. emphasis and refutation don't have the same status.
    – Lambie
    Commented Feb 1 at 15:25

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