"... but I care not about that."

[Ant]

Hello!

Is "I know that I missed some words from the famous quotes but I care
not about that." a valid English saying? It sounds weird to me if it is.

Thank you in advance. :)

[Pat Durkin]

Post by Ant
Hello!
Is "I know that I missed some words from the famous quotes but I
care not about that." a valid English saying? It sounds weird to me
if it is.

Yes. Not standard word order, but used for an attention-grabbing
function.

Many "quotations" are snippets from proverbs or poetry that have
caught the public's favor.

Some of those snippets are rephrased in popular songs or songs that
once were popular.
I think this oldie was introduced in a Broadway show or revue from
the 1920's, though it may be older:
What care I? Say, I'll get by, as long as I have you.

[Ant]

Post by Pat Durkin

Post by Ant
Is "I know that I missed some words from the famous quotes but I
care not about that." a valid English saying? It sounds weird to me
if it is.

Yes. Not standard word order, but used for an attention-grabbing
function.
Many "quotations" are snippets from proverbs or poetry that have
caught the public's favor.
Some of those snippets are rephrased in popular songs or songs that
once were popular.
I think this oldie was introduced in a Broadway show or revue from
What care I? Say, I'll get by, as long as I have you.

Thank you. I thought he was supposed to say "... but I don't care about
that." :)

[Ian Jackson]

Post by Ant

Post by Pat Durkin

Post by Ant
Is "I know that I missed some words from the famous quotes but I
care not about that." a valid English saying? It sounds weird to me
if it is.

Yes. Not standard word order, but used for an attention-grabbing
function.
Many "quotations" are snippets from proverbs or poetry that have
caught the public's favor.
Some of those snippets are rephrased in popular songs or songs that
once were popular.
I think this oldie was introduced in a Broadway show or revue from
What care I? Say, I'll get by, as long as I have you.

Thank you. I thought he was supposed to say "... but I don't care about
that." :)

I can't see the problem. It's simply rather archaic English. However, it
is still found in poetry and songs, in certain 'sayings', and
occasionally - for emphasis - even in normal speech.

I think that present-day English is probably unique in its use of the
"do + not" to make a negative statement. At one time, the simple
addition of a "not" (as in the OP's question) would have been the normal
way to do it - as it is in many other languages. Indeed, in the handful
of other languages of which I have some knowledge, all form the negative
by the addition of the equivalent of only a "not".

The same is often true for making a question by a reversal of the
pronoun and verb. "What care I?" is now "What do I care?". But again,
the archaic form is not quite dead.

[Eric Walker]

On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 22:16:24 +0000, Ian Jackson wrote:

[...]

Post by Ian Jackson
I think that present-day English is probably unique in its use of the
"do + not" to make a negative statement. At one time, the simple
addition of a "not" (as in the OP's question) would have been the normal
way to do it - as it is in many other languages. Indeed, in the handful
of other languages of which I have some knowledge, all form the negative
by the addition of the equivalent of only a "not".
The same is often true for making a question by a reversal of the
pronoun and verb. "What care I?" is now "What do I care?". But again,
the archaic form is not quite dead.

Just so. The "do" form evolved because it was felt that the emphasis in
forms such as "I care not" was insufficient: the want was for the adverb
to be stressed, rather than its verb. The dummy "do" allows the adverb
to be converted from a "true" adverb to what we now call a "sentence
adverb" (much better called a clausal adverb), where it can take the
stress in speech:

"I CARE not"

"I do NOT care"

Each is the natural fall of the stress when the phrases are spoken. But
the old form, though now little used, remains perfectly valid.

[R H Draney]

Post by Eric Walker
Just so. The "do" form evolved because it was felt that the emphasis in
forms such as "I care not" was insufficient: the want was for the adverb
to be stressed, rather than its verb. The dummy "do" allows the adverb
to be converted from a "true" adverb to what we now call a "sentence
adverb" (much better called a clausal adverb), where it can take the
"I CARE not"
"I do NOT care"
Each is the natural fall of the stress when the phrases are spoken. But
the old form, though now little used, remains perfectly valid.

Or you could use the Mike Myers version: "I care...NOT!"...r

[Pat Durkin]

Post by R H Draney

Post by Eric Walker
Just so. The "do" form evolved because it was felt that the
emphasis in
forms such as "I care not" was insufficient: the want was for the adverb
to be stressed, rather than its verb. The dummy "do" allows the adverb
to be converted from a "true" adverb to what we now call a "sentence
adverb" (much better called a clausal adverb), where it can take the
"I CARE not"
"I do NOT care"
Each is the natural fall of the stress when the phrases are spoken.
But
the old form, though now little used, remains perfectly valid.

Or you could use the Mike Myers version: "I care...NOT!"...r

Yeah. Or, that horrendous teen go-together with "Whateverrr": "Like
I care"

[R H Draney]

Post by Pat Durkin

Post by R H Draney

Post by Eric Walker
Just so. The "do" form evolved because it was felt that the
emphasis in
forms such as "I care not" was insufficient: the want was for the adverb
to be stressed, rather than its verb. The dummy "do" allows the adverb
to be converted from a "true" adverb to what we now call a "sentence
adverb" (much better called a clausal adverb), where it can take the
"I CARE not"
"I do NOT care"
Each is the natural fall of the stress when the phrases are spoken.
But
the old form, though now little used, remains perfectly valid.

Or you could use the Mike Myers version: "I care...NOT!"...r

Yeah. Or, that horrendous teen go-together with "Whateverrr": "Like
I care"

That's similar enough in derivation to "I should worry" that it troubles me
not....r

[Pat Durkin]

Post by R H Draney

Post by Pat Durkin

Post by R H Draney

Post by Eric Walker
Just so. The "do" form evolved because it was felt that the
emphasis in
forms such as "I care not" was insufficient: the want was for the adverb
to be stressed, rather than its verb. The dummy "do" allows the adverb
to be converted from a "true" adverb to what we now call a
"sentence
adverb" (much better called a clausal adverb), where it can take the
"I CARE not"
"I do NOT care"
Each is the natural fall of the stress when the phrases are
spoken.
But
the old form, though now little used, remains perfectly valid.

Or you could use the Mike Myers version: "I care...NOT!"...r

"Like
I care"

That's similar enough in derivation to "I should worry" that it troubles me
not....r

Eddie Fisher song, right? Or maybe Tony Martin. And then, with more
thought, Ol' Blue Eyes.

[R H Draney]

Post by Pat Durkin

Post by R H Draney
That's similar enough in derivation to "I should worry" that it troubles me
not....r

Eddie Fisher song, right? Or maybe Tony Martin. And then, with more
thought, Ol' Blue Eyes.

I was thinking of Merwyn Bogue, aka Ish Kabibble, who derived his stage name
from the Yiddish equivalent....r

[Pat Durkin]

Post by R H Draney

Post by Pat Durkin

Post by R H Draney
That's similar enough in derivation to "I should worry" that it troubles me
not....r

Eddie Fisher song, right? Or maybe Tony Martin. And then, with more
thought, Ol' Blue Eyes.

I was thinking of Merwyn Bogue, aka Ish Kabibble, who derived his stage name
from the Yiddish equivalent....r

Oops! It's the word order, and not the worry word (although "worry"
is sometimes defined as "care")
As you may know by now, my freely associating brain slips a gear now
and then.
http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-should-care-lyrics-nat-king-cole.html

But Tony Martin sang it, too. I think one of the Google blurbs listed
it as from 1954. Of course, as the lyrics show, the more complete
thought becomes standard conditional usage.

[Robert Bannister]

Post by Ant

Post by Ant
Is "I know that I missed some words from the famous quotes but I
care not about that." a valid English saying? It sounds weird to me
if it is.

Yes. Not standard word order, but used for an attention-grabbing
function.
Many "quotations" are snippets from proverbs or poetry that have
caught the public's favor.
Some of those snippets are rephrased in popular songs or songs that
once were popular.
I think this oldie was introduced in a Broadway show or revue from
What care I? Say, I'll get by, as long as I have you.

Thank you. I thought he was supposed to say "... but I don't care about
that."

What care I?

[Cryptoengineer]

Post by Pat Durkin

Post by Ant
Hello!
Is "I know that I missed some words from the famous quotes but I
care not about that." a valid English saying? It sounds weird to me
if it is.

Yes. Not standard word order, but used for an attention-grabbing
function.
Many "quotations" are snippets from proverbs or poetry that have
caught the public's favor.
Some of those snippets are rephrased in popular songs or songs that
once were popular.
I think this oldie was introduced in a Broadway show or revue from
What care I? Say, I'll get by, as long as I have you.

It's at least a hundred years older than that; it appears in Barry Edward
O'Meara's 1822 book 'Napoleon in exile: or, A voice from St. Helena',
recounting an 1817 conversation with the former emperor. I expect the
words are O'Meara's translation from French.

As others point out, its now an archaic form.

pt

[Glenn Knickerbocker]

Post by Ant
Is "I know that I missed some words from the famous quotes but I care
not about that." a valid English saying? It sounds weird to me if it is.

My ear expects "care naught for"--though, as one blogger pointed out:

http://www.decaffeinated.org/archives/2005/08/22/naught

that may have been an accident of the cot/caught merger. In
Shakespeare's works (at least as edited for World Library--see
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/100 ) it's always "care not,"
whether it's followed by "for" or not.

¬R