Class Notes
How to Eliminate Weenie Verbs

For the "to be" verbs

  1. Sometimes the weenie linking verb can be replaced with an action verb.

    2. Example:  The poster is on the wall.
    What to do:
    1. Locate the subject:  Poster.
    2. Ask yourself:  "The poster does what?"
    3. Answer yourself:  "It hangs there."
    4. Ah!  Replace is with hangs.
    5. The poster hangs on the wall.
  2. Sometimes these verbs can be eliminated by converting progressive verb tenses to simple tenses.  Progressive tenses have weenie "to be" verbs followed by another verb with an -ing ending.

    3. Example:  The corn was growing rapidly.
    What to do:
    1. Locate the subject:  Corn.
    2. Ask yourself:  "The corn did what?"
    3. Answer yourself:  "It grew."
    4. Ah!  Replace was growing with grew.
    5. The corn grew rapidly.
  3. Sometimes they can be eliminated by converting passive voice to active voice.  Passive voice has a weenie "to be" verb followed by a past participle of another verb.

    4. Example:  My car keys were found under the table.
    What to do:
    1. Locate the subject and the verb:  My keys were found.
    2. Identify the main verb: found.
    3. Ask yourself:  "Who found them?"
    4. Answer yourself:  "Jennifer found them."
    5. Ah!  Rewrite the sentence with this new subject—Jennifer.
    6. Ask yourself: Jennifer did what?
    7. Answer yourself: Jennifer found my car keys under the table.
  4. Sometimes a writer will probably have to reconstruct the whole sentence using an action verb instead.

    5. Example:  There were three dead ducks on the pond.
    What to do with there is, there are, there was, or there were constructions:
    1. Look for the first noun after the weenie "to be" verb:  ducks.
    2. Ask yourself:  "The ducks did what?"
    3. Answer yourself:  "They floated."
    4. Ah!  Rewrite the sentence starting it with the ducks and using floated as the verb.
    5. Three dead ducks floated on the pond.
For the "to have" weenies.
  1. Try replacing the verb with a synonym.

    2. Example:  Jason had a long trench coat.
    Revised:  Jason wore a long trench coat.
  2. Try embedding the details of one sentence into the details of another sentence.

    3. Example:  The young lady had deep brown eyes.  She stared cautiously at the elevator doors.
    Revised:  The young lady stared cautiously at the elevator doors with her deep brown eyes.
For the other weenies, "to go" and "to get," find more precise synonyms to convey the exact meaning of the action you want to describe.
  1. He got emotional.

    2. He became emotional.
  2. He got 100 points on the last test.

    3. He earned 100 points on the last test.
  3. He got a cold.

    4. He caught a cold.
  4. She went to the airport to get her sister.

    5. She grabbed a bus to the airport to pick up her sister.
    She drove to the airport to find her sister.
  5. She went downstairs.

    6. She staggered downstairs.
    She ran downstairs.
    She sprinted downstairs.
    She stumbled downstairs.
    She crept downstairs.
    She tiptoed downstairs.
    [Notice how every verb paints a different, more precise picture than the vague picture painted by went.]
What are all the weenie verbs?  Click HERE to find out.
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