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writing center

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THE PRINCIPLE

The verb TO BE is the most commonly used verb in the English language. It comes in

many forms: am, are, is, was, were, will be, has been, have been, had been, etc. We use

it to state the existence or condition of something:

Downtown Greensboro is a more interesting place today than it was a year ago.

We also use forms of TO BE and TO HAVE as auxiliary verbs to show a variety of time

frames - in this example, moving from present to past to future:

Downtown Greensboro is changing. With all the new bars and clubs that have

opened, someone will soon be leading groups of tourists on guided pub crawls.

THE PROBLEM

The problem is that habitual use of BE and HAVE can make writing dull and wordy.

Substituting stronger, more expressive verbs can both brighten and trim a person's

writing style.

Consider the difference between these two paragraphs:

After many attempts to "revive" downtown Greensboro, it finally appears to be

happening. Streets that were once empty after dark are now bustling with activity - or at least

they are showing signs of life. There are now clubs and bars lining Elm Street and the

surrounding area, and they are full of twenty- and thirty- somethings. A slightly older crowd has

been lured downtown by new art galleries, and live performances are now offered at two

theaters. There are a few fine restaurants that have before- and after-theater specials. There

is also a new park in the middle of town that has live concerts on a regular basis. Some lunch-

hour performances are held there, and many downtown workers have been attracted to them.

Young families are also discovering downtown, thanks in large part to the Children's Museum

that has been open for a few years and the baseball stadium, which is brand new and which

has a playground that is loved by kids.

After many attempts to "revive" downtown Greensboro, it finally appears to be

happening. Streets that once stood empty after dark now bustle with activity - or at least show

signs of life. Clubs and bars full of twenty- and thirty- somethings line Elm Street and the

surrounding area. New art galleries and two theaters offering live performances have lured a

slightly older crowd downtown, where they can find before- or after-theater specials at a few fine

restaurants. A new park in the middle of town hosts live concerts on a regular basis, including

some lunch-hour performances that attract many downtown workers. Young families are also

discovering downtown, thanks in large part to the Children's Museum that opened a few years

ago and the brand new baseball stadium with a playground that kids love.

THE SOLUTION

The second version of our test paragraph is leaner by 31 words, and the number of

BE and HAVE verbs has shrunk from 19 to 3. As a result, the writing dances to a livelier

tune. Admittedly, the verbs are not the only thing that has changed, but the process of

changing them has inspired and enabled other changes as well. Here are some specific

ways that you can turn weak verbs into stronger ones, making your prose more muscular:

1) Use your imagination to substitute more interesting words:

Streets that once stood empty instead of Streets that were once empty.

A new park . . . hosts concerts instead of has concerts.

2) Whenever possible, use active instead of passive verbs:

New art galleries and two theaters offering live performances have lured a slightly

older crowd downtown.

One active verb instead of the two passive verbs in the original:

A slightly older crowd has been lured downtown by new art galleries, and live

performances are now offered at two theaters.

A playground that kids love (active); a playground that is loved by kids (passive).

3) Try not to start sentences with "there is" or "there are."

Clubs and bars line Elm Street works better than

There are clubs and bars lining Elm Street.

A new park hosts live concerts beats There is a new park that has live concerts.

4) Use the simple present tense instead of present progressive (she listens instead of

she is listening) and the simple past tense instead of past progressive (she listened

instead of she was listening) unless you really need to show that the action is

continuing (as you might, for example, in a sentence like "She is learning to play

the piano" or "She was driving home when she heard the news").

Streets now bustle with activity - or at least show signs of life is stronger than

Streets are now bustling with activity - or at least they are showing signs of life.

5) Whenever possible, embed the description of something in an adjective before

a noun, instead of dragging out the sentence with a noun and a "to be" verb phrase

that includes an adjective:

The brand-new baseball stadium is more compact than

The baseball stadium which is brand new

No one would suggest that you eliminate all forms of the verbs TO BE or TO HAVE

from your writing. But with a little ingenuity and effort you can probably become less

dependent on them.

**Try this experiment: underline all forms of TO BE and TO HAVE

in a paragraph you have written, and then see how many of them you can change.