Flashcards

[ketkoag]

This is from the beatthegmat flashcards..
"Beeswax candles burn more cleanly than synthetic candles.” This statement is correct as per the flash cards.
Would it not be "Beeswax candles burn more cleanly than synthetic candles DO"?
i think we should add DO at the end of the original sentence to make it correct..
please clarify as i doubt this..[/b]

[hemanth28]

you are right. I guess the "DO" should have been there .

I Guess you should write to the author asking him to change that.

[rahulg83]

I think this sentence is acceptable..
We don't have to put "do" at the end, it can be omitted.

[Stacey Koprince]

Received a PM asking me to reply.

Rahul is right: the "do" is optional. The first sentence, below, is an example of an elliptical construction, in which words that would normally be required are omitted from a sentence. This is acceptable as long as the omitted word (or words) is found earlier in the sentence. In the below case, the word "burn" is not repeated but the parallelism allows us to know without a doubt what the missing word is.

Beeswax candles burn more cleanly than synthetic candles (burn).
OR
Beeswax candles burn more cleanly than synthetic candles do.

The second sentence uses the pro-verb "do" in order to refer back to the verb "burn." (A pro-verb is like a pronoun, except it refers to a verb.)

Either form is acceptable.