Why should you care about verbs?
As long as you know your irregular verbs, you’re okay as a writer, right?
This post isn’t about boring grammar goofs.
And it’s not a post full of complicated Latin words and grammatical terms either.
The mistakes below are more profound than a small grammar faux pas. What’s more important: Once you know how to correct these silly mistakes, your writing becomes stronger, more engaging, and more persuasive.
Sound good?
Let me tell you a quick story first …
My boyfriend and I hadn’t been dating for long
And on one memorable night, we went to the movies: A documentary about Tibet.
18 years later, my husband still teases me about it.
The cinematography was breathtaking. The topic interested me—a few years earlier, I had traveled to Tibet, and was fascinated by the culture, the people, and the landscape.
But still …
I fell asleep.
How could that happen?
There was little action in the movie. What could have been a 60-minute story was dragging on for over 3 hours.
Yucky verbs have the same effect. They drag readers down and make them yawn.
Verbs form the engine of your writing
Each sentence requires a verb to be complete.
Verbs indicate action, explaining an activity: she swims, she jogs, she cooks, she draws, she writes. Verbs also help explain what a situation or experience is like: she hears him talk, his lecture confuses her, she feels stupid.
The right verbs add action and drama to your writing. They make sales copy persuasive, and thrillers nerve-wrecking. Without the right verbs, your writing becomes flimsy, feeble, and sluggish.
Want readers to stay glued to your content? Avoid the 4 subtle mistakes below, so your writing becomes strong, compelling, and engaging.
Let’s start …
#1: Don’t undermine your persuasiveness
Want readers to get excited about working with you?
One trick is to let them imagine what it’s like. When people start imagining how good it is to work with you, their desire to hire you increases.
This is how you shouldn’t stir your reader’s imagination:
During the call, we will set your priorities together. We will discuss simple tactics to stay focused so you can squeeze more work into your precious hours. At the end of the call, you will feel lighter. Your to-do list will have shrunk. You’ll have a clear action list, and you’ll know how to move your business forward. Without getting stuck. Without feeling overwhelmed.
What’s wrong?
Words like will, won’t, or shall indicate the future. But when you use the future tense, readers can’t experience your words. You’ve moved the experience towards the future.
Eliminating the future tense instantly breathes life into your copy, helping readers imagine working with you as they experience your writing:
During the call, we set your priorities together. We discuss simple tactics to stay focused so you can squeeze more work into your precious hours. At the end of the call, you feel lighter. Your to-do list has shrunk. You have a clear action list, and you know how to move your business forward. Without getting stuck. Without feeling overwhelmed.
Sounds more persuasive, right?
So, only use the future tense when absolutely necessary.
#2: Avoid wishy-washiness
Words like will and shall are modal verbs.
You hardly ever use these verbs on their own. They don’t express a specific action.
Other modal verbs are can, should, must, would, and could. These words indicate whether something is necessary or probable.
Unlike “real” verbs like run, smash, buy, or dilly-dally, modal words don’t have a strong meaning; and that’s why you need to use them in moderation. A few examples:
A more powerful version:
With a yucky modal verb:
A bossier version:
With a yucky modal verb:
A stronger version:
Or a more engaging version:
Modal verbs are useful, but you can use them in moderation. Too many modal verbs undermine your persuasiveness.
#3: Don’t sound evasive
The passive voice makes your writing vague.
Because you avoid telling who took which action. And that’s exactly why presidents and CEOs love the passive voice—they don’t like taking responsibility for mistakes.
This is how silly the passive voice sounds:
This is how endearing the active voice is:
And here’s how presidents and CEOs like to apologize:
Here’s how to take responsibility instead:
The passive voice uses more words, making your sentence unnecessary long. But more importantly, it sounds lousy. Gutless.
#4: Don’t pick flimsy and foggy verbs
Feeble verbs make your writing wordy and harder to understand:
Simple verbs communicate your ideas faster and clearer. They’re more direct:
Another flimsy verb:
More concise:
Don’t muddy your meaning by showcasing your command of Greek and Latin:
A clearer option:
Big words and complicated phrases don’t make you sound more intelligent. The opposite is true. Simple words make you sound smarter.
Want to become a better writer?
Want people to listen to your ideas?
Learn how to pick the right verbs.
Because verbs are the engine of your writing. They make readers feel the action. They move your story forward. They tell readers what to do next, and that’s how they increase conversions—get more subscribers, more inquiries, more sales.
So choose your verbs with care.
PS Thank you to Marlene and Curtis who inspired this post.
Recommended reading on grammar:
Why adverbs stink
How punctuation shapes your voice
99 strong verbs to make your content pop, fiz and sparkle
Love your teaching style. Kudos.
Thank you, Donna 🙂
This post was just what I needed to put the spark in an article I’m working on.
Thanks.
Happy writing, Wally!
This article is a masterpiece.
You have added value into my learning. The way you storified it is out of this world.
Neither wordy or boring- classy and to-the-point, I bet it’s not a piece of cake to come up with such a unique style to share the most common and un-talked problem.
Writers do face this issue; either they avoid it or don’t want to talk about it.
Great.
Keep it up.
Thanks so much, Zahid. It’s kind of amazing to me that a blog post about verbs has generated over 80 comments.
Thank you for stopping by!
Thank you for the great post, Henneke! It’s in line with what I am reading now – On Writing Well by William Zinsser.
That’s a great book. Happy reading, Oleg!
I’m guilty of this.
Thank you for this great article.
I learned a lot 🙂
I’m glad you found it useful, Mike!
I love this. This helps me a lot today. And I will read your other posts. Thanks, Henneke.
Thank you, Jobelle. Happy reading!
Hi Henneke
I tend to get defensive when people tell me I ‘should’ do something and try to avoid using it as much as is possible. Thanks for sharing the alternatives.
Thank you, Vatsala. Sounds like your mind is as rebellious as mine! 😉
Great post 🙂 I love your ‘cut to the chase’ tips.
I’m finding a lot of my copy still has lingering issues with verbs.
Great Reminders.
Thanks Henneke.
It’s a tough job to spot all the tiny opportunities for tightening text. With practice, we get better at spotting them.
Happy writing!
It boils down to this; use active verbs and present tense. Stay in the now and keep the action moving.
I started in the broadcast news business. I learned to write, “He says” not “He said.”
Also, avoid gerunds. They suck the life out of verbs.
IMHO
Peter T. Britton
Yep, that’s a good summary!
Thank you for stopping by to share your honest opinion.
Hi Henneke,
Yikes! Grammar. The thought of it almost makes my head explode in a Scanners stylie. Great work making it easy for timid souls like me. I’m always trying to tighten up my writing to make it flow and pull readers along – willingly.
-Tom
Yeah, I know, the idea of grammar makes me shiver, too!
Glad you enjoyed my tips, Tom. I appreciate you’re stopping by! 🙂
Dear Henneke,
thank you for all the advice you give. It helps me to craft my words better.
Great! Thank you for letting me know, Teri.
Happy writing!
I’ve always loved your posts, Henneke, but this is my favourite.
Wow. That’s lovely to hear! Thank you, Sarah 🙂
I always enjoy your posts Henneke! This one is fab too!
Thank you so much, Cat. Nice to “meet” you! 🙂
I love this post! This is an area I’ve struggled to overcome. I called it being too wordy. But I think I was really making these mistakes. Thanks!
You’re welcome. 🙂 I appreciate you’re stopping by again, Terri!
Hey Henneke,
Great post. As I was reading the part about modal verbs, I felt somewhat embarrassed because my writing is littered with some words like that…and I didn’t know they were having a negative effect on what I write .
Truly awesome job explaining it so well as you always do. I have to do a better job at writing in the present.
– Andrew
Hey Andrew,
It’s natural to use modal verbs. We use them a lot when we talk, and they appear a lot in my first drafts, too. It’s just that when you delete a few (you can never delete them all), your writing becomes stronger.
So, no need to feel embarrassed! 🙂
I read your post and then went back to work on my new website pages and laughed out loud. In one paragraph I deleted 3 will’s and one ‘very’. Gotta say, it sounds better and more like me. Thanks Henneke, very timely post.
It’s amazing how much different a few of these tiny words can make, isn’t it?
I like what you write about making it sound more like you. That’s why I don’t think “write like you talk” is good advice. We have to edit our text so it sounds conversational, so it sounds like us.
Henneke,
I appreciate your wise verbiage. 🙂
Present is where it’s at!
Blessings,
Brent
Yep, let’s live in the present tense.
Thank you, Brent.
Great post Henneke. I’m about to take a course involving Mark Ford’s Power of Persuasion and this is a good prelude
Have fun with the course!
Hi Henneke,
thanks for reminding me about verbs, while writing my second story the first one is waiting to be edited this, once again is coming at the most needed time.
Love and Blessings
Annamarie
That’s lovely to hear, Annamarie. Thank you!
Your advice is much appreciated by me 😉 (sorry, couldn’t resist)
And your comment is much appreciated, too 😉
Not often do I re-read a blog post, but you had a lot of helpful reminders here. Thanks!
The example, “Mistakes were made, and we’ve learned our lessons,” made me laugh out loud since I seem to hear that quote daily! (I’m in the U.S.)
Thank you for coming back for a second serving 🙂
I don’t think it’s only US politicians who like using that phrase. Mistakes were made, and we’ve learned our lessons; it’s now time to move on. 😉
If the salt is too much or too little in the lunch, then it doesn’t taste good.
Similarly, we need to use the verbs carefully with right measures in our writing.
I got this now, Henneke, please let us know few more examples to practice the correct usage of verbs. 🙂
Are you still hungry? 😉
Yes Henneke 🙂
Your writing is like Salt. (not the Salt of Angelina Jolie). I mean the “Cooking Salt” an essential day to day useful product, we cannot live with 🙂
We take your blog examples and use it to express our thoughts in our blogs.
Just now, we celebrated Diwali in India.
The speciality is we use Salt, even in the Sweets we make. Yes Henneke, we use little bit of Salt in the sweets in an exact proportion to make the sweet taste good.
So, salt is used in salty and in sweety products. Your writing is exactly same to that.
I can only imagine and compare your writing upto this as this is the example I got in line with the Diwali festival we celebrate here in India.
That is the reason for the delay in reading (learning) your blog and to reply this late.
Oh, you are well aware that we celebrate Diwali in a phased manner, in South India and in North India.
Please Henneke, come to India, as a tour. Why just Tibet ?
Are you hearing this little tweet from this Indian Bird?
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, Chennai is now open for visitors up to June 2016.
Plan, Come and enjoy the birds eye view. Nearly 55,000 birds all over the world come here.
Okay Henneke, until your next post, we will wait for a treat from you 🙂
little correction: we cannot live without meaning to say “indispensable”
your writing is now becoming indispensible
Keep writing and enchant our knowledge and our grammer.
Thank you Henneke,
P.S : Now, if I make a mistake, I prefer to correct it immediately.
Thank you Henneke,
Understood the usage of verbs, like a pinch salt to lunch.
This gives a clear idea for me to improve my writing.
🙂
Great content is indeed not difficult to create. Simple mistakes such as in 1 and 2 only wreck your epic content.
Henneke, thanks for opening my eyes.
You’re welcome 🙂 Thank you for stopping by.
Thanks Henneke. I agree – to put it crudely “will” and modals seem to constipate the message. I always edit for unnecessary “wills” and modals. They creep in because we often use them in conversation.
Yep, well put. And that’s why we shouldn’t write like we talk! 😉
Another great grammar lesson. Where were you when I was at school? Totally love the lessons you serve up.
Where I was when you were at school? I guess we’d have to know each other’s age 😉
Glad you enjoyed the post!
YAY, Henneke, another fab blog. Just when I needed it for writing my sales letter. Dank je wel!!
Thank you, Elvire. Happy writing!
Henneke, Since I want to sound smart in my writing… from now on using your suggestions,
I will choose my verbs less in my writing. Going to the point, not going around in circles.
And yes, I fall sleep on movies also. More so now that I am of old age.
Funny note on your husband teasing you when you did. Ha!
Anything dragging bores me to death, and I start fidgeting right away.
May be I am too impatient! But tell your alter ego lady not to look at me like this. Ha!
I will take your writing lessons as soon as possible. We having one for free today. Thanks friend!
The funny thing was that I hadn’t even realized I had slept through half the movie, until my husband said something about a specific scene afterwards and I hadn’t seen it …
I love reading your articles for the 2nd and 3rd time. I get something new each time, whether it’s additional clarity or something I completely missed before.
Thanks so much for “recycling” “old” content!
Yeah, I do my best not to recycle, but I do often touch on the same themes. I’m not getting too repetitive?
Thanks Henneke – I will look out for this when writing. Interesting to see the difference in your examples. I can’t remember ever learning this stuff at school (or maybe it was just too long ago to remember!) So feels like I’ve learnt something new here 🙂
I sometimes wonder what we were taught at school. I don’t think I learned about this either. To be honest, I don’t quite remember how I was taught to write.
Thank you for stopping by!
Henneke, this is great advice. Sally Hogshead’s motto is “live in verbs”. This post shows us how to bring those verbs to life.
Thanks!
“Live in verbs” – I hadn’t heard that before, but I like it!
So true, Henneke. Verbs are the workhorses of grammar. That’s why authors like Stephen King hate adverbs so much. They take the place of working with great, descriptive verbs.
Yep, fewer adverbs, stronger verbs. It seems so easy, yet we all get sloppy with our words.
Terrific stuff Henneke! Thank you!
You’re welcome 🙂 Nice to see you again!
I actually never thought of these ideas. So obvious when it’s spelled out. I have been “willing” my way around words for a long time, when all I had to do was leap into the present tense.
Yep, leap into the present tense. It’s more fun 🙂
I love the way you put that!
Great post. I’m brand new to copywriting but I really enjoy reading every bit of information on the subject. This was great info that I can put into action today!
Thank you, Raymonda. Happy writing!
As always, your writing is enchanting :-).
I love the way you illustrate (not only with your drawings but also with the examples you provide) your tips: simple and effective.
Today’s article is also very helpful for me to improve my English.
I love using examples. But you probably knew that already 🙂
Thank you for stopping by, Thuy. I appreciate it!
It was very enchanting. Thanks a lot.
You’re welcome 🙂
I think I could somehow love you, more or less. 😉
🙂
PS
I think you’d have run out of the cinema before falling asleep. Or perhaps you’d have been smarter than me and not gone to that movie 😉
Hi Henneke,
As someone who works in an office environment, your use of the word “gutless” to describe the passive voice is great!
I love your posts like this. They always give me a couple new tools to keep in mind when I’m editing my writing.
Thanks!
Eric
I’ve worked in an office environment for a long time, too, so I know … 😉
Thank you for stopping by, Eric!
Hi thanks for all the great tips!
You’re welcome 🙂
Oh wow, guilty as charged! On all four counts. Thanks, Henneke, for pointing these out. I know quite a few pieces I wrote, and even some web copy (mine included), where I’ve made these mistakes. Off to fix what it is to be fixed… 🙂
You’re not the only one!
Thank you for stopping by, Anca. Happy fixing! 🙂
Thank you Henneke. So simple. So true. I enjoy the engaging version of asking a question of the reader.
I like using questions, too. A few questions sprinkled over your content make the tone a lot more engaging.
Thank you, Kelly.
Hi, I loved this post.
BTW you can also post on “transitive verbs” if that’s important for copywriting! And I don’t know why but something didn’t feel right with the changed para, here’s my attempt:
“We set your priorities together, during the call.
And when we’ve discussed simple tactics to stay focused—you can squeeze more work into your precious hours.
By the time we finish, you’re lighter, with a smaller to-do list. Armed with a clear action list you now know how to move your business forward. Unstuck, ready to take charge.
(any thoughts, or I’m doing some newbie mistake)
Regards
Yep, sure. You can make more changes, but I wanted to show how much difference only eliminating “will” makes.
Glad you enjoyed the post! 🙂
I love how you demonstrate what you are teaching in the article itself. I try to shorten by half whatever I originally write. Now I have better tools for slicing down my text like a ninja wordsmith. I’m also showing this to my kids. Thank you!
Yep, when I edit my text, I change quite a few verbs. “You can” and “you should” sneak in far too often 😉
Wasn’t sure I had the time to read this when it first came in, but delighted I did!
One heads up. Near the end you said: “Big words and complicated phrases don’t make your sound more intelligent.” Did you mean “you sound”?
Yep! Corrected.
I must stop making last-minute changes because that’s how mistakes often sneak in. Thank you for the heads up!