Community Chat

[Mindy D]

By convention you are right and your DIL is wrong, even though "don't" means "do not", conventional use of "do not you think" is awkward. I'm not an expert but you could check in Gregg's Manual of Style.

[beach-mom]

I'm an English teacher. IMHO "Do not you think. . ." is an old-fashioned stilted form of using the English language. It is very unusual to split the subject and verb this way. I never hear it. 

[Isobel Archer]

Note that the form with isn't he is no longer a simple contraction of the fuller form (which must be is he not, and not *is not he). Some more examples:

Why haven't you washed? / Why have you not washed? Can't you sing? / Can you not sing? (the full form cannot is redivided in case of inversion) Where wouldn't they look for us? / Where would they not look for us?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_auxiliaries_and_contractions

Is not it? is always wrong. Is it not? is right. Not always comes after the subject if it isn't contracted:
are you not?
does he not?
will she not?
should they not? etc.

https://www.englishforums.com/English/IsntItIsItNotIsNotIt/vvjnz/post.htm

[Mindy D]

There are examples from Shakespeare that use "do not you know"

shakespeare.mit.edu › lll › lll.5.2.html Loves Labours Lost. Shakespeare homepage | Love's Labour's Lost | Act 5, Scene 2 ... What's your dark meaning, mouse, of this light word? ..... Do not you know my lady's foot by the squier, And laugh ...

[Isobel Archer]

Shakespeare Henry IV, Part I

Lady Percy. Do you not love me? do you not, indeed?
Well, do not then; for since you love me not,
I will not love myself. Do you not love me?
Nay, tell me if you speak in jest or no.

[Scooby Doo]

I would have said "why don't cha".....

[DoneTryin]

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

Shakespeare Henry IV, Part I

Lady Percy. Do you not love me? do you not, indeed?
Well, do not then; for since you love me not,
I will not love myself. Do you not love me?
Nay, tell me if you speak in jest or no.

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@Isobel Archer  Lovely, & a far cry from text-speech, isn't it?  I watch Jimmy Kimmel almost every night & he frequently discusses current events in emojies.  It's a riot every time.

[kivah]

I'm with ur husband!!!!!!!!!!

[SaRina]

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@kivah wrote:

I'm with ur husband!!!!!!!!!!

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[Ms X]

There's nothing wrong with the way you worded the question.  "Do you not think" puts a special emphasis on the fact that she is doing it wrong and gets the point across better than the alternatives suggested by others.