Look Good in Print

This text will refresh your memory or introduce you to the common writing rules for Standard American English. It addresses the 22 most common errors found in writing. Applying and using the fundamentals of good writing will ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and achieves your intended purposes.

02C: VERBS

In the previous two sections, we've examined common errors relating to sentence construction, word choice, and punctuation. We focus on verbs in this final fundamentals section. Verbs give life to your writing; without verbs, nothing happens. 

We'll start with some stylistic advice about verbs: Liven up your writing - even your business writing - by inserting interesting verbs. Bland verbs suffocate our sentences and enervate our emails.  A seventh-grade English teacher, Mr. Coward, has experimented with a total moratorium on the use of verbs like be, go, have, do, and get. His students struggle to write anything without falling back on those overused verbs. 

Although we don't advocate such extreme measures in this textbook, remember that lively verbs make for lively writing - up to a point. Use good judgment. Readers will mock your emails if each sentence sounds like a vocabulary quiz.

NO:  I was going to have a meeting tomorrow. 

(Could that be a little more vague and bland, please?)

DEFINITE NO: I intended to convene our assemblage on the morrow. 

(Someone's been spending too much time on thesaurus.com.) 

YES: I hope an 11:00 meeting works for everyone tomorrow. 

We turn our attention now to six specific rules about verbs. Master these rules and you'll prevent a multitude of errors.