Learn English – Why is “did” italicized for emphasis in “Where did you come from?”
emphasis
Where did you come from?
What is the nuance of this emphasis?
I could understand it if the emphasis were on where.
Best Answer
Here is a hypothetical conversation where emphasis on did might make sense:
Speaker A: "You look sweaty. Were you working out at the gym?"
Speaker B: "No, I didn't come from the gym."
Speaker A: "Well, where did you come from?"
Speaker A wants to elicit an affirmative statement by that emphasis. The emphasis also expresses annoyance at Speaker B's uninformative negated response.
Yes, and yes. If you are going to use "so" in this manner, then it would be properly followed by a dependent "that" phrase that explains a consequence of the condition. In informal speaking as in "I could so eat an entire cake right now" I would argue that the speaker is merely skipping over an adverb for emphasis (e.g., "so easily", "so eagerly", "so quickly", etc.).
See definition of "so" here at Merriam Webster and note that using the word for emphasis is widely condemned but nonetheless standard English. Use 2b is what you are using, and has been in use for decades. Use 2e, which is my alternate example, is more recent and more informal.
Best Answer
Here is a hypothetical conversation where emphasis on did might make sense:
Speaker A wants to elicit an affirmative statement by that emphasis. The emphasis also expresses annoyance at Speaker B's uninformative negated response.