Dictionary

pro-verb en · NOUN

Etymology

Formed in English of pro- (“substituting for”) + verb.

Meanings

1. A pro-form used to substitute for a verb or verb phrase.
   • 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:
   • “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:

Forms

Translations (4)

nl proverbum (pro-form for a verb or verb phrase) · ja 代動詞 (pro-form for a verb or verb phrase) · ru местоглаго́лие (pro-form for a verb or verb phrase) · fr pro-verbe (pro-form for a verb or verb phrase)