verb placement

Question

How would you answer why we place the verd "do" in the following sentence?
"Governmental and not-for-profit organizations serve entirely different purposes in society than do business entities?"

I know we can say that sentence both ways. Is it just written more formally here, or is there another explanation that I am missing?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

do is a pro-verb, i.e., it stands for a verb (serve, in this case). A few different phrasings are possible:

... serve ... different purposes than business entities serve.

... serve ... different purposes than business entities do. (do substitutes for serve.)
... serve ... different purposes than do business entities. (Inversion of the subject and do is allowed in comparisons.)
____
Similarly,
This fence extends farther than that one extends.

This fence extends farther than that one does.

This fence extends farther than does that one.
___
Jerry jumps as high as Matt jumps.

Jerry jumps as high as Matt does.

Jerry jumps as high as does Matt.
CJ

Clive · Answer

Hi,
Placing 'do' as in your original example is indeed 'fancier' English, rather more literary and formal, and not characteristic of casual speech.

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks Clive-

I knew it was possible to do all of the above (like calif Jim said), but wanted to check that the only reason was that it was, indeed, more formal.

gw.

verb placement

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