pro-verb
nounEtymology Formed in English of pro- (“substituting for”) + verb.
1
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A pro-form used to substitute for a verb or verb phrase.
- “They herd cattle, and raise corn, just as we used to do”; i.e., to herd cattle and raise corn. Do is sometimes thus used as a sort of pro-verb to represent an active verb or a phrase.1875, Simon Kerl, A Common School Grammar of the English Language, page 150:
- The pro-verb do is like a pronoun; just as a pronoun replaces the entire NP, the pro-verb replaces an entire VP.2000, Laurel Brinton, The Structure of Modern English: A Linguistic Introduction, page 206: