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I was reading The Wolf's Side of the Story. On the third paragraph, it says

Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do.

How is "they do" used in this sentence? Why wouldn't you use "they do know" to make the sentence clearer instead?

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  • I'm not sure why you say "I do" in the title. Did you have a different example originally?
    – Catija
    Jun 10, 2016 at 23:19
  • @catjia This question reminded me of "I do" which I hear more often in conversations. So I thought it was a more general version to use in the title.
    – Lemu17
    Jun 10, 2016 at 23:30
  • When I see "I do" alone like that, I just think of wedding ceremonies. :D
    – Catija
    Jun 10, 2016 at 23:31
  • It is not at all clearer to repeat know here. If you don't repeat know, the native speaker applies it him or herself automatically. It's more idiomatic without it.
    – Alan Carmack
    Jun 11, 2016 at 0:31

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In this case, "do" is echoing the original verb without actually using it.

I heard the car alarm go of... or I thought I did.
They see a mysterious floating object in the sky... or they think they do.

Repeating the verb is also an option, though without do/did.

I heard the car alarm go off... or I thought I heard it/the alarm.
They see a mysterious floating object in the sky... or they think they see one/a mysterious floating object.
Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they know it/the story.

By using do/did, you avoid having to repeating both the verb and a pronoun or the noun itself.

Your recommended version would likely be understandable but non-standard.

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