[Grammar] What little he does do he does very carefully.

[kadioguy]

Is this sentence grammatical? Could you tell me the reason?


What little he does do he does very carefully.


From an English usage book by a Chinese writer

 

[Tdol]

This would work much better for me:

What little he does, he does very carefully.

 

[Skrej]

It's grammatical. The 'do' isn't strictly necessary, but can be included for extra emphasis. Note the required comma in Tdol's example, either way.

 

[Roman55]

As a stand-alone sentence, Tdol's one is better. It would be fine as it is if it came after something like, 'He doesn't do much, but what little he does do, he does very carefully.'

 

[Matthew Wai]

In the OP's image, it says (in Chinese) 'In the sentences below, what means whatever [...] In the sentences above, what can be replaced with the'.

Do native speakers agree?

Note the required comma in Tdol's example, either way.

This non-native cannot understand the original sentence without a comma.

 

[kadioguy]

This non-native cannot understand the original sentence without a comma.

I don't know what you mean. Could you explain it more? What does 'This non-native' mean?

 

[Matthew Wai]

What does 'This non-native' mean?

I think it refers to the non-native speaker who wrote the sentence you quoted.

 

[kadioguy]

I think it refers to the non-native speaker who wrote the sentence you quoted.

OK, but why do you say this? The non-native speaker who wrote the sentence I quoted didn't use a comma, but he wrote it, so he can understand it, don't he?

 

[Tarheel]

OK, but why do you say this? The non-native speaker who wrote the sentence I quoted didn't use a comma, but he wrote it, so he can understand it, can't he?

I thought Matthew was talking about himself at first, but we'll find out for sure when he returns.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think what Tarheel thought was right.

The non-native speaker who wrote the sentence I quoted

I meant the sentence you had quoted in your post #6 rather than #1.

 

[kadioguy]

I think what Tarheel thought was right.


I meant the sentence you had quoted in your post #6 rather than #1.

This non-native speaker is you, not that writer. Right? Sorry, I am confused.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Yes, you are right. Sorry for the confusion caused by the omission of the post number.

 

[Roman55]

I think it refers to the non-native speaker who wrote the sentence you quoted.

This added to the confusion.