Put some action into your sentences |
English is a verbing
language. We like to put action into our sentences, and to say things
as clearly and directly as we can. As a result we use use a lot of verbs
to get our message across.
If
you want to improve your writing, stop using all those abstract nouns
in your writing and replace them with the real verbs they often come
from.
Abstract nouns are words for things you can't touch or see such as discovery, agreement, observation, and development. They come from verbs such as discover, agree, observe, and develop. When you turn a verb into a noun, you nominalize it, creating nominalizations.
When you nominalize the action of a sentence, you reduce the clarity of the sentence because hide the action
in a noun instead of letting the action of the sentence remain in the
verb.This creates sentences with a lot of unnecessary words. Most
readers find it easier to understand clear sentences in which the
subject is the "doer", and the verb conveys the action. They don't want
to have to read the sentence several times in order to get the point.
Consider these examples:
1 Little Red Riding Hood’s
suggestion was that the wood chopper complete the killing
of the wolf with quickness.
Little Red Riding Hood
suggested that wood chopper quickly kill the wolf.
2. We had a discussion on disciplinary actions parents should take on their children.
We discussed how parents should discipline their children.
3. There was agreement in our group.
Our group agreed.
Do you notice how in each example, the second sentence is much clearer and direct than the first? .
Five Types of Nominalizations
Here are some ways in which nouns are overused. You may think you sound
more "academic." Unfortunately, the result
is the opposite. You simply sound pompous and wordy - without clearly communicating your meaning.
1. Nominalization follows verb
The police conducted an investigation into the matter.
The police investigated the matter.
2. Nominalization follows "there is", "there are"
There was erosion of the land from the floods.
The floods eroded the land.
3. Nominalization is the subject of empty verb
Our discussion concerned a tax cut.
We discussed a tax cut.
4. Consecutive Nominalizations
There was a review of the growth of the women's movement.
We reviewed how the women's movement grew.
5. Linked nominalizations
The cessation of hostilities was because of their personnel losses.
They ceased hostilities because they lost personnel.
Correcting and Improving
Iimproving your sentences is not difficult. Put the action back into your sentences. Here are two specific methods you can use.
- Go back to your writing. look for obvious nouns such as recommendation, observation, consultation, improvement, developmentt, and turn them into verbs. Then , find a real subject and rewrite the sentence with some action in it.
- Whenever you see general purpose verbs such as carry out, have, undertake, conduct, there is, there are " look for the noun that names the action. Then, turn the noun into an active verb and make the sentence more direct and easier to read (Christopher Turk and Alfred John Kirkman, Effective Writing: Improving Scientific, Technical, and Business Communication, 2nd ed. Chapman & Hall, 1989)
More examples:
Here
are a few more examples of how you can turn abstract nouns into real
action verbs, which will strengthen your writing and make it more
readable.
Too many nouns
There was a recommendation to change.
There is an improvement in your work.
There is rapid development in my city.
My parents made a suggestion.
The government made an announcement.
Our group made a report.
There has been a suggestion.
Overuse of the land has caused destruction.
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Change the nouns to verbs
We recommended a change.
Your work is improving.
My city is rapidly developing.
My parents suggested....
The government announced....
Our group reported...
The boss suggested.....
Overused of the land has destroyed it.
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What do you think about this? Let me know.
That was an informative ,something new to learn..thanks i have learned a lot.
ReplyDeletesuad
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a problem I have in my writing.It is not easy for me to change it,but I am trying to use more verbs in writing.
ReplyDeleteRenee,
DeleteBeing aware of the problem will help you a lot because now you know that you should try to use active verbs. If you put some real effort into it, you will improve.
Lovely blog you have hhere
ReplyDelete