STRONG VERBS

in #steemiteducation6 years ago (edited)

Strong verbs highlight and enhance writing. Your choice of verb helps you to be specific. Choose specific, active verbs whenever you can. Choose verbs that will express yourself powerfully and not simply. Avoid the passive voice. Replace adverbs and a verb with a strong verb if you can. Strong verbs will help you to eliminate wordiness by replacing different forms of the verb 'to be.' They allow you to stop overusing words like 'is', 'was', 'are', and 'were'. Don't say he was owning several restaurants.' Do say; 'He was the owner of several restaurants.'


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You may ask yourself why you need strong verbs when you write, strong verbs improve your writing in three
ways:
They help you to:
Reduce adverbs. It will improve your writing if you replace an adverb and a verb with a strong verb if you can.
Avoid the passive voice: Choose specific active verbs whenever you can.


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  • Don't say: "He looked carefully at the patients' injuries." Do say: "He examined the injuries."
    Choose specific, active verbs whenever you can.
  • Don't say: " He was said to be sleeping in the class by the teacher." Do say: "The teacher accused him of sleeping in the class."

Overworked verbs should be replaced by stronger verbs (synonyms). Your choice of a verb will depend on the context and the way in which the verb is to be used.

Stronger Verbs


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Stronger Verbs to Choose

Following a list of stronger verbs that you can use instead of the simple verbs.

  • Said:
    Announced, commanded, declared, echoed, emphasised, exclaimed, mumbled, murmured, ordered, predicted, quoted, reiterated, repeated, replied, shouted, stressed, verbalised' whispered'

  • Went/ walked:
    Advanced, ambled crawled, continued, dashed, embarked, flew followed, hiked, hobbled, hurried, journeyed, marched, patrolled, proceeded, ran, sailed.

  • Get/got:
    Achieved, acquired, attained, borrowed, bought, derived, earned, guessed, inherited, obtained, produced, received, won.

  • Do/did:
    Accomplished, achieved, borrowed, bought, arranged, completed, discharged, executed, fulfilled, performed.

Reduce Wordiness


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If you have reduced wordiness, used specific strong verbs, and used the active voice, readers will be able to understand you more easily. This is what you want because the reason why we write is to communicate.


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Source:
EBH Joubert. English Grammar
https://writerswrite.co.za/why-you-need-strong-verbs-when-you-write/

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Thanks for this geat post @frieda !
I must admit, I am sometimes guilty of overusing simple verbs... ( oh dear, now I'm getting worried, I may have overused some in this comment... :D )
Loved your selection of synonyms for some of the verbs, really helpful!

Thank you very much for your reply. We learn every day, it will never stop!

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