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Pro-verb

In grammar, a pro-verb is a word or phrase that stands in place of a verb (for example, in order that the verb not need to be repeated). It does for a verb what the more widely known pronoun does for a noun. It, along with pronouns and some other word classes, form the general group of word classes pro-forms. It is a type of anaphora. This term is always hyphenated, to distinguish it from the unrelated term proverb.

Pro-verbs in English

Pro-verbs are often ignored in the elementary treatment of English grammar, since English does not have dedicated words that serve only as pro-verbs. Rather, a pro-verb is generally formed in English by combining an auxiliary verb with an adverb like so or too. Some examples of pro-verbs include the following:

  1. Sally is a smoker, and her sister is, too.
  2. Sally is a smoker, and so is her sister.
  3. I have given up smoking, and my sister has, too.
  4. I have given up smoking, and so has my sister.
  5. Sally smoked a cigar, and her sister did, too.
  6. Sally smoked a cigar, and so did her sister.
  7. Sally smoked a cigar, and her sister did so, too.

The so forms and the too forms are interchangable, although the word order is often different (so-verb-subject vs. subject-verb-too) (but see #7). The auxiliary verb used depends on the tense, aspect, mood, and voice of the antecedent verb; thus in English, pro-verbs and their antecedents must agree in these attributes.

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