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In English grammar, to my understanding, it is incorrect to say "this does makes," but I'm not sure why (and nor does my mother, who is an editor).

It is acceptable to say "this makes [sense]," and "this does make [sense]," but why is it not allowable to interchange the two?

What English grammar rule does "this does makes sense" violate? It clearly sounds wrong, but I'm having trouble justifying why.

  • In this usage, 'do' is an auxiliary, and is always followed by the base form of the main verb: 'Does he drive?' 'She doesn't snore.' 'This does make sense' (used in place of the more usual 'This makes sense' for emphasis). This is really too basic a grammar question for ELU, but has been covered here before. Look up 'auxiliary [verb]' here, or on basic grammar sites. A search for 'Do-support' will probably lead to articles going a bit deeper than just bare rules. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 01 '14 at 08:11
  • Singular 1st person: I make sense ---> I do make sense; 3rd person: It/she/he makes sense ---> It/she/he does make sense; Plural form: ---> You/we/they make sense (no 'S')---> You/we/they do make sense – Mari-Lou A Sep 01 '14 at 11:37

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