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I am revising an English text and found a phrase on this text:

Why do ye say: “Not even at the request of God do I forgive.”? Do not say ye that!

from the original Portuguese version:

Por que dizeis: “nem com o pedido de Deus eu perdôo.”? Não digais isso!

I know that in English, a phrase beginning with: "Do I ... ?" Means that it is a question.

My question is: Can "do I" be used in the middle of a phrase as an affirmative sentence? Is this gramatically correct? Or should this be rewritten in another way, how could this be written to be correct?

Tony
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    I'd keep the do I as it is. It fits nicely with the formality. – Yosef Baskin Jan 10 '22 at 21:51
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    It's correct; with a negative adverbial at the front, we invert: https://blogs.transparent.com/ingles/2014/09/19/advanced-english-inversion-with-negative-adverbs-and-adverbial-phrases/ – Tinfoil Hat Jan 10 '22 at 21:59
  • I would forget using "ye". The Portuguese is merely using a plural you. Trying to sound Biblical could be a mistake, overall. Language names take capital letters. "Do not say ye that" that is completely wrong. Frankly, the proofreading should be done by a native English speaker. As a professional into-English proofreader and translator from Portuguese, this kind of thing is particularly disheartening. On the other hand, since this is usually fundamentalist stuff, I shouldn't care.... – Lambie Jan 10 '22 at 22:57
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    "Not even ... do I..." is very formal in English and old-fashioned sounding; I wouldn't expect to find it outside old books. Far more common is "Even" with a negative e.g. "Even at the request of God, I don't/won't/wouldn't forgive..." – Stuart F Jan 10 '22 at 22:59
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    In some cases "Do I ever!" means an emphatic "yes!". eg. "Do you remember Bob? Do I ever!". See https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/51/messages/172.html – neubert Jan 10 '22 at 23:10
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    @StuartF - ye is pretty old-fashioned, as well. – neubert Jan 10 '22 at 23:11
  • The use of do I here is correct in modern English, though somewhat formal. Using ye in modern standard English is incorrect; the first one should be you and the second one should be omitted. There may be dialects where ye is used in this way, but I don't think OP's usage is correct even for Elizabethan English, though I stand to be corrected. – Peter Jan 10 '22 at 23:34
  • 'Would I' is much more common than 'do I', I would suggest. – Nigel J Jan 11 '22 at 13:52
  • @NigelJ - I find the meaning a bit different. – aparente001 Jan 12 '22 at 00:35

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