tobesure,theaveragemanagerhasmoreinformotionathisorherfingertipsthanwasthecasewhtobesure,theaveragemanagerhasmoreinformationathisorherfingertipsthanwasthecasewhenBarnard,apractisingmanageratAT&T,waswriting.

Question

to be sure ,the average manager has more informotion at his or her finger tips than was the case wh
to be sure ,the average manager has more information at his or her fingertips than was the case when Barnard,a practising manager at AT&T,was writing .
than was the case 中的 was 能去掉么,was 这个系动词让我感到很迷惑,它是从句里的表语动词么,不是它句中又是什么成分.

Answer 1

不能去掉,“than was the case when ...”是倒装句,表达的意思是“than the case was when .” than引导的是比较状语从句,the case是主语,was是连系动词,when引导表语从句.
was是be 动词is,am的过去式,是连系动词做表语.