In episode s08e16 (The Intimacy Acceleration) of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon made these statements:
Look, you may not be as academically inclined as are we. Yes, that’s how you say it.
Penny: Well, maybe. But I’m still glad we did it. I do feel closer to you.
Sheldon: And I, you. And yes, that’s how you say that.
Both sounded rather weird to me (which I'm sure was the intention). The question
is, is this really how you say it, and if so, why?
The first sentence seems to make use of subject-verb inversion. In a comparative clause after "than" or "as," inversion "can occur under certain conditions." Is it even grammatical in this case (in the second half of an "equative" phrase of the structure "as x as y")? If so, are there any sources that actually recommend it over the non-inverted form, backing up Sheldon's claim that this is "how you say it"? (On another grammar forum, there is some discussion that says that the use of inversion after "more than," which seems a comparable context, is in fact "deprecated by some grammarians," "censured by Fowler," and "has always been rare.")
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