pro-verb

plural pro-verbs

1. grammarA 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

   1 more example

   “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