Download Pitch the verb already

Engl 39#/E
Rules of Thumb: Verbs
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Pitch the verb already!
-The Grammar Umpire
The root of a good predicate is the verb, and the root of a good sentence is the
predicate. Pitch action to the reader as soon as possible in the sentence.
1. The verb is usually the most important information in the sentence because it
conveys what happens in the sentence. Thumb-rules for using all verbs:
1. Place the verb within the first five words of the sentence:

Houdini-like, the vampire transmogrified into fog. NOT
In a manner redolent of the great master of illusion Harry Houdini, the
vampire transmogrified into fog.
2. Keep the verb near the subject, since readers expect to find them together:

Buffy studied vampire literature extensively, polishing her defenseagainst-the-dark-arts chops. NOT
Buffy, polishing her defense-against-the-dark-arts chops, studied vampire
literature extensively.
3. Describe action, not states of being nor thoughts and emotions.
a. Stay out of your mind1 (I feel, I thought, I believe):

Buffy takes up the heroic mantle of vampire-slayers...NOT
I feel that Buffy takes up the heroic mantel of vampire-slayers.
b. Stay out of other people's minds2 (He thought. He looked sad.):
More credible: A tear rolled down the vampire’s cheek.
Not credible: The vampire was sad.
The careful writes builds credibility, what Aristotle coined ethos, with precision. The
novelist enjoys latitude about what characters think and feel. This relationship between
writer and subject is what literature theorists call the position of omniscience and
sometimes omnipotence. Most professional and technical writers do not occupy this
catbird seat.
Saying “I think” and the like interjects a juvenile first-person voice. Save these constructions, especially “I
feel” for conversation or therapeutic discourse.
2 You don’t know what other people think or feel. Do they report to you? If so, you can use this declarative.
(This interaction is rare!) Instead, report what you see.
1
This verb discussion was developed with Michael Winett and other PWP faculty.
Engl 39#/E
Rules of Thumb: Verbs
This verb discussion was developed with Michael Winett and other PWP faculty.
Shea