The finite verbs are in bold in the following sentences, and the non-finite verbs are underlined: . Thank you for all this free information. So you can see that a new strong verb like sneak/snuck is a cause for celebration—that is, if you are worried about the extinction of forms like glide/glode.". Thank you so much. ", "It was true, thought Miss Taylor, that the young nurses were less jolly since Sister Burstead had taken over the ward.". Have fun. Irregular Verb Examples. This was the motivation I needed. This is just what I need, and it has come at the right time too for me. Do you feel crippled or bruised by the failure? I absolutely love “to galvanize” and “to scour”. I will read it again and again and again, to keep reminding myself how to give my writing energy with strong verbs. When a great story is told, we lean forward, and our hearts race as the story unfolds. Only when editing, you’ll look at crossing out adverbs and adjectives, and replacing weak words with stronger words. She’s doling out invaluable tools for success!”, Great! List of Irregular Verbs in English. Everytime I read something, especially of yours, certain words DO leap off the screen to me. You inspired me. Then, review your draft. You do such a great job there. You put a smile on my face. Most of the examples in this post are in present simple and past simple tense. Which verbs have a strong emotional connotation? In the Simple Past, they take the same endings as modal verbs (i.e. Somehow, during my sleep, I often come up with a better one. (Sorry for my late reply to your comment – I somehow missed it last month! Can we use them on our sales page copy or will it be too loud to use them? It’s probably my best yet! For instance, if someone provides feedback, is he shouting his comments? Reviewing examples of a topic is a great way to get … Examples. 3. Contact | Comment Policy | Privacy Statement | Terms and Conditions | Copyright © 2021 Enchanting Marketing Ltd. ~ Strunk and White (in the Elements of Style). 2. For instance, you could say you generated ideas during your brainstorm session. Thank you so very much. Good work. Peters, Pam. Don’t let your good people skills go unnoticed. Verbs in English are irregular if they don't have the conventional -ed ending (such as asked or ended) in the past tense and/or past participle forms. Do you feel devastated or shrug your shoulders? For instance, I walk is intransitive because there’s no object that is walked by me. The contrast I sampled, above, was typical…. . Thank you very much Henneke for a comprehensive article on strong verbs. It was cool just use different words to make it sound different. Thank you for your comment, Santosh. Here’s how we define strong verbs vs weak verbs: Weak verbs are the “basic” forms of a specific action, like “walked” or “ran.” Strong verbs are a specified form of a broader action, like “stomped” or “bolted.” So the main thing you need to remember when it comes to strong verbs vs weak verbs … I just love reading your posts, Henneke, and this one was especially inspiring. Use a thesaurus to find more precise alternatives for weak verbs. We could narrow each debatable thesis from the previous examples in the following way: Narrowed debatable thesis 1: At least 25 percent of the federal budget should be spent on helping upgrade business to clean technologies, researching renewable energy sources, and planting more trees in order to control or eliminate pollution. If every verb in every sentence is strong, then it’s overkill and that’s tiring for your reader. He uses few adjectives and adverbs to keep his writing fast-paced. In which sentences can you replace weak with strong verbs? Watson, Sheila. Your site is such an invaluable tool and I so appreciate what you do! 6. It’s a gliding scale, and it’s up to you as a writer to decide how strong you’d like your verbs to be. This post woke me up today. As some of the verbs became less common, like cleave-clove, abide-abode, and geld-gelt, children failed to memorize their irregular forms and applied the -ed rule instead (just as today children are apt to say winded and speaked). Wonderful! While the present form can express obligation, necessity, certainty or strong probability, the present perfect forms only express a strongly felt opinion or supposition. I draw blanks. Regular verbs have an -ed ending added to the root verb for both the simple past and past participle. – David, Indeed, and most business writing can use an injection of oomph . This document will teach you why and how to prefer active verbs over passive verbs. See everyday idioms, figures of speech or fallacies used in the correct context. Some recruiters must read through hundreds of resumes, and so you have a limited amount of time to catch their attention. (Yawn!) I only use the past tense when I have to. ", According to Bernard O'Dwyer, grammar textbook writer, "[I]rregular verbs...derive from the Old English period. Here are nine that are used more often than the rest. The bridge they built brought traffic in both directions. i love reading your great articles and working hard to improve my writing skills. More than one. I’m want to be a better writer. What a lovely comment. Thank you so much for sharing this, Henneke! Intransitive verbs can stand on their own, without an object. Strong Examples of Using Action Verbs Founded the Detroit Club of Stand-up Comedians and Improv Actors Built the new inventory management database used to reduce surplus by 15% 5. I’m glad you enjoyed this, Piper. According to Steven Pinker, Candian-born American experimental psychologist, "At first glance irregular verbs would seem to have no reason to live. I will try to use more of this verbs in my writing but also while speaking. Strong verbs formed their past tense and past participle with an ablaut or vowel gradation (a means of marking different functions of a word by varying the vowel sound in its base). Thank you for all you do–you rock! These nine irregular verb examples also happen to be among the most commonly used words in the English language. McClelland & Stewart, 1992. Non-sequitur: Allot each human twenty-five !’s a year. But a nose is tweaked and can't be twoken. A strong thesis statement contains the following qualities. Just to say, sometimes style is subjective, even when it comes to verbs! Riverbank Tweed and Roadmap Jenkins: Tales From the Caddie Yard. You might think strong verbs are only for fiction writers. I would compliment you on your blogs. Nordquist, Richard. As you said, it’s easy to think these are more suited to fiction writing. Thank you, Paul. Basic Books,1999. I love writing posts like this Thank you for your lovely compliment, Fiona. A cow regurgitates grass, and a blogger may regurgitate worn-out topics. A Strong Thesis Statement. . Thank you for stopping by! Do you take a break between writing a first draft and editing it? Smacking it with new found vigor, I bellowed “Verbs! Imagine this: how would readers experience your voice if you used fewer adjectives and adverbs? Awesome as always Henneke. Plus concreteness. Collocations are very common in business settings when certain nouns are routinely combined with certain verbs or … It’s a fun exercise. What is not clear to me is the way experienced writers appear to see a sentence broken down into grammar. Happy power writing! In contrast, strong verbs add action, vitality, color, and zest. Thank you for stopping by, Helen. You can use these verbs for both concrete and abstract concepts. Deep Hollow Creek. A little more tricky than adverbs, but practice makes perfect. To crank up, to flood, to snowball, to skyrocket, to catapult, to flick, to jump-start, to tackle, to grab, to grasp, to wrestle, to poke, to stir, to prod, to stab, to strike, to smash, to hit, to plunge, to drop, to dump, to drain, to squeeze, to topple, to ditch, to block, to muzzle, to electrify, to galvanize, to fire up, to ignite, to kindle, to whip up, to sharpen, to shock, to jolt, to beat, to regurgitate, to trigger, to pocket, to bat, to smack, to slap, to kick, to kick-start, to hammer, to nail, to club, to flog, to clutch, to hook, to cling, to grip. Maybe this is what a grammar teacher would recommend but I try to write as much as possible in the present tense. She hit publish with trepidation. If you don’t mind, please tell me whether in the sentence, “most of us would rather clean the bathroom than do push-ups,” we should replace the verb “to do.” If the answer is yes, then what’s the alternative? I will surely use them in the next copy I use. Jerz > Writing > Grammar and Syntax >. In addition to the strong verbs, there is a very small handful (about six) of verbs that are called ‘mixed’ verbs, because they act like a mix between strong and weak verbs. But, as you suggest, it’s also an opportunity to read more, learn more and play more. "Irregular forms are just words. Yes, so true. Now check your email to confirm your subscription. She starts if she hears a sound, pales if you ask her questions, spins and vanishes if you disturb her dress. Strong collocations are word pairings that are expected to come together, such as combinations with 'make' and 'do': You make a cup of tea, but you do your homework. The Muse, then, is the most terrified of all the virgins. It tracks all the ways you move throughout the day, whether you’re walking between meetings, doing cartwheels with your kids, or hitting the gym. I’m not sure that’s the case here … I might prefer “cartwheeling” because I’m a non-native speaker, but I might be the only one who prefers it . Isn’t it interesting how we all have our favorite words? Here’s an example of text, sagging under adjectives and adverbs: To add energy to the text, the first step is to strip the content back to its bare bones: The stripped down version lacks nuance and color. I’ve already used it in a couple of business marketing collaterals. I’ll have to refer to this great post. You can squeeze a stress ball, or you can squeeze more to-do’s into your calendar. Verbs with -ing suffixes. I also had a lot of fun while writing this – especially with selecting all the examples. My “secret” trick to writing headlines is to write down a few options (usually one or two days before I publish my post), then read my headlines before I go to sleep and pick a favorite in the morning. "What Are Irregular Verbs in English?" Examples. My brain then shouted, “Are you paying attention? But I think that it still proves your point, because even if “doing” seems weak ,”doing cartwheels” is very concrete and evocative for the audience, so that’s the most important thing. Thanks a lot. And I love the verb “to jazz up.” Great choice! ), Thanks for inspiring us with these fine examples of strong verbs. Way, way up. Below follow examples of more sensory verbs with negative connotations: To choke, to strangle, to smother, to gag, to suffocate, to throttle, to cry, to howl, to sob, to blubber, to scream, to groan, to moan, to fret, to fume, to bleed, to nag, to steal, to kidnap, to ransack, to loot, to pilfer, to plunder, to snitch, to puke, to vomit, to yelp, to bark, to growl, to grumble, to mutter, to spout, to suck, to scold, to plummet, to collapse, to skid, to agitate, to slave, to labor, to wreck, to ruin, to cripple, to devastate, to decimate, to trash, to shatter, to torpedo, to sabotage, to capsize, to maul, to crush, to slash, to bruise, to hijack. Your apple tree can blossom, and your blog can flourish. Thank you. She menacingly looked glared at her rival. I’m working on a rough draft now of a blog post and know your suggestions will kick it up a notch. I will definitely be referring to it as I attempt to jazz up an otherwise potentially hum-drum website about insurance. 5. The 'Comprehensive Grammar of English,' (1985) presents seven classes of irregular verbs, five of them with subgroups. This is an excellent post! Action verbs propel a sentence forward, keeping readers engaged. https://www.thoughtco.com/irregular-verb-english-grammar-1691197 (accessed March 8, 2021). I literally roll my eyes and rush through it hoping there’s at least some valuable gems I could pull from the copy. Burridge, Kate. There was an error submitting your subscription. , What a lovely comment. Communicated with New Partners, Clients or Sponsors. Apple Watch Series 2 counts more than just steps. Don’t tell anyone! Verbs appear in almost all sentences. Is there anything specific that you hate about writing? Water slopping from the buckets froze on the feet as it fell. Again, these verbs just need to be memorized. Follow proven templates for specific writing tasks, practice your skills, and get professional feedback so you become a confident business writer. Perhaps as non-native speakers we can feel more free to play with different words . Each of these verbs gives you an indication of how someone walked: Strong verbs can also be used for abstract language. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our. The following is a partial list of irregular verbs found in English. Old English had more than twice as many irregular verbs as we do today. Simon & Schuster, 2001. Great! But how did your ideas arrive? Now, I’d like to empower you to find your voice, share your ideas and inspire your audience. First drafts are full of weak verbs, and weak verbs make your writing limp, flabby, and listless. Active verbs form efficient, powerful sentences. She wracked her brain, and slaved over her words to produce a blog post. What a great way to introduce the concept of strong verbs without it sounding like a boring lecture. . 1st ed, TBS, 2002. Thank you for your skill in teaching the power of grammar in a shockingly simple way! Sometimes I like to insert a rest between a long dose of rich words, like a drink of cool water between courses in a meal. If our language faculty has a knack for memorizing words, it should have no inhibitions about memorizing past-tense forms at the same time. In contrast, weak verbs are abstract and generic—they don’t help you visualize a scene. Happy writing, Gill. Verbs that rely on adverbs. I Appreciate all the work I know this post took. Another eye opener for me, Henneke. Thank you, Marie. The ten commonest verbs in English (be, have, do, say, make, go, take, come, see, and get) are all irregular, and about 70% of the time we use a verb, it is an irregular verb. I love the sound of gobbling up . In English grammar, an irregular verb (pronounced i-REG-u-lur verb) is a verb that does not follow the usual rules for verb forms. The way you write, OMG! ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. So that’s where I’m at. Your post rattled my brain. Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, et al. Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks. I’ve long dropped the notion of writing being “art”; that futile fable that, once your article is posted, you’re not allowed to edit it. All the best from sunny Sydney. 1st ed, 1887. "But many of the irregulars can sleep securely, for they have two things on their side. Haven’t you often wished you could make customers, employees, investors, or students snap, crackle, pop, and move to the new place they need to be in order to create a new future? What Are Irregular Verbs in English? To crack, to tap, to snap, to sputter, to knock, to boom, to clap, to bang, to drum, to squeal, to bump, to chatter, to twitter, to chirp, to clank, to click, to click-clack, to tip-tap, to jingle, to jangle, to rattle, to tinkle, to hush, to murmur, to plop, to pop, to fizz, to sizzle, to swoosh, to gargle, to sizzle, to hiss, to burp, to hiccup, to whack, to thumb, to crunch, to creak, to squeak, to flutter, to giggle, to tee-hee, to cackle, to honk, to hum, to meow, to woof, to munch, to shush, to screech, to slosh, to squish, to whirr, to gnaw. Irregular verbs do not follow this pattern, and instead take on an alternative pattern. I'd like to receive the free email course. I’m not a fan of exclamation marks either. Great reminder, Henneke! "What Are Irregular Verbs in English?" This is so useful because when writing I stare at the screen ‘thinking’ of the perfect word. Oh man, this is such a pain point for me as a non-native speaker! Glaring at you too many posters on social media. I see you as a motivational football coach. In some cases, an uncomplicated break can dramatize sets of contrast, inserting even contrasting types of words. Happy writing, Cindy. The total membership of the modern irregular verb system is a question of criteria, depending on whether you include: To provide maximum help—and to avoid prejudging such issues—the Comprehensive Grammar (QGLS) presents a list of 267 irregular verbs, but it shrinks to about 150 if you apply all three criteria just mentioned.". Don’t overdo it. I’d keep “do push-ups.” That’s how people say it. Morph, co-opt, and jettison are three of my favs. One is their sheer frequency in the language. Or perhaps scribbling a few suggestions in the margin of your handout? Strong [irregular] verbs These are the verbs that have stem-vowel changes in one or more of the tenses [possibly including the present tense]. Creating and Using English Language Corpora: Papers From the Fourteenth International Conference on English Language and Research on Computerized Corpora, Zurich 1993. edited by Udo Fries, Gunnel Tottie, and Peter Schneider. Pinker, Steven. I like your procedure for stripping out flab from the draft text and then enlivening it with action. First drafts often require an injection of power and pizzazz. I am certain that choosing the right verbs as you’ve suggested would add the zest that is sorely needed. Tom promised to try to do the work.. O'Dwyer, Bernard T. Modern English Structures: Form, Function, and Position. ThoughtCo. . Hey this is great stuff, Henneke! If you write long articles like I do, keeping it all together becomes a difficult task. The language ends up with dinged, pinged, derided, succumbed, and flied out, not dang, pang, derode, succame, or flew out. The verbs below paint strong positive imagery in your reader’s mind. I must have read about this concept 100 times before, but never in a way that was this fun to read! Thanks Henneke. I’ve declared war on adverbs. I see it as a challenge and a game. But I’m no good at football! Strong verbs engage your senses, and help readers picture a scene (verbs in bold): Strong verbs allow readers to visualize actions. Happy writing! Thank you for adding your thoughts. And then to keep it in mind even if you are tired . You’re very persistent if you persevere in reading boring content! A verb like to fail has a strong negative connotation but doesn’t necessarily paint an unambiguous or vivid picture in a reader’s mind. Note: This post was originally published on 14 February 2016; an expanded version was published on 12 June 2019. I dealt; he begged; I gave him one, and made three more. I stood, and made three to his nothing. At the end of a writing day I am usually too tired to think of good headlines. An editor once shared with me that she knew I had contributed an anonymous piece for her friend’s magazine, because my style was noticeable, to her. He roared at me, “SIT!” I sat. Instead of using weaker words like walk or move, try to describe the movement more precisely so readers can imagine the movement. Happy teaching! Strong verbs are precise and concrete. Happy writing, Jansie. When writing a resume, it’s important to avoid weak and passive verbs, stay away from business jargon or clichés, and watch out for tired words and phrases.These faulty word choices can undermine the strength and effectiveness of your resume. Wow, what a great resource. Thank you for stopping by. Happy writing! Love Zinsser! Here’s Nancy Duarte in her book “Resonate” (about engaging your audience with story-based presentations): Throughout history, presenter-to-audience exchanges have rallied revolutions, spread innovation, and spawned movements. Success! I can hear you tapping away on your keyboard. Thank you, Patricia. And children have a wondrous capacity for memorizing words; they pick up a new one every two hours, accumulating 60,000 by high school. Oh, wow, I’m honored to be included in your article. I hit you is transitive—you are the object as you are hit by me. I love inspiring people. (2020, August 27). This might be a little faster than translating them all. To make your words livelier, more descriptive, more exciting, active, emotional, use vivid adjectives and verbs to describe an object, event, person or an action. I’m so glad this post gives you hope. With the loss of inflections during the Middle English period, all new verbs took on the weak verb formation with an {-ed} or {-t} in past forms. At that time they were called strong and weak verbs respectively. Arabic (اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ, al-ʿarabiyyah, [al ʕaraˈbijːa] or عَرَبِيّ ‎, ʿarabīy, [ˈʕarabiː] or ) is a Semitic language that first emerged in the 1st to 4th centuries CE. Examples of weak verbs are “to be,” “to provide,” “to add,” and “to utilize.” You can’t picture these words. Links, Bo. Wow, great post! Strong verbs formed their past tense and past participle with an ablaut or vowel gradation (a means of marking different functions of a word by varying the vowel sound in its base). And thank you for stopping by to leave a comment. A magician might be spellbinding, but your blog posts can hypnotize readers, too. I tore out the pages, ate them with salt, doused them with relish, gnawed on the bindings, turned the chapters with my tongue! Powerful verbs are strong enough to stand alone. It is wonderful. Nordquist, Richard. That’s also how I created this list (and many more strong verbs exist that aren’t on this list). For instance, he describes how he started writing stories based on lists of nouns: And the stories began to burst, to explode from those memories, hidden in the nouns, lost in the lists. Conjugated verbs are used to express the characteristics of person, number, tense, voice and mode in the German language. I appreciate it! It is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. I hate to write but this post gives me hope. Also known as a strong verb. I’m not surprised that your writing stands out and your voice is recognized. Hi Henneke, Thanks for this list of strong verbs. A thesis statement must concentrate on a specific area of a general topic. It’s a good way to add both power and pizzazz! Thank you! While quietly sitting at her wooden desk, she slowly formulated her thoughts and worked really hard to write her blog post. You can’t picture “provide feedback,” but you can visualize “shouting,” “lecturing,” and “scribbling.”. In contrast, weak verbs are abstract and generic—they don’t help you visualize a scene. I’ve read every single word this information goldmine and it was tremendously helpful. Biber, Douglas. Thank you for stopping by, David. Rodopi, 1994. It is nouns and verbs, not their assistants, that give good writing its toughness and color. Playing with your words is key, I think. Write a first draft quickly using the words coming up into your mind. . Learn how I can help you. This is one of the points I’m slaving over, along with telling better stories. But the example from Apple shows how you can add some oomph to business writing too. What about other tenses? Great post. "American and British Influence in Australian Verb Morphology." Longman, 1989. The irregular forms were doomed for these children's children and for all subsequent generations (though some of the dead irregulars have left souvenirs among the English adjectives, like cloven, cleft, shod, gilt, and pent). Thank you so much for this post. Yes, that’s such a good point, and a wonderful example! This one boggled, blew away and some other cool verb that starts with B. I’m writing a piece about power writing and power verbs is a section. Read samples of compelling conclusions, strong thesis statements and effective resume objectives to inspire your own writing. Plus, when I draw a blank, I use the thesaurus . And thank you for stopping by. adjective, subject, verb, adverb, and object (if present). I’ll be saving this article to refer back to. Something clicked when you said your word choice shapes your voice. How to Arouse the Magic of Sensory Words (Even in Business Writing! Henneke thank you for another thought-provoking piece! Much appreciated. Thank you, John, for your lovely compliment . Have fun! As I am learning English so I may teach English to others. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/irregular-verb-english-grammar-1691197. Thank you so much!! I’m sure your content isn’t as drab as you think. so encouraging . Play with your words. The only way to think beyond “said”, “did”, “was” is to read, and read a lot. I am bookmarking this post. Oooh, I feel all zingy and raring to go. As you may recall, the creation of a thesis statement begins when you choose a broad subject and then narrow down its parts until you pinpoint a specific aspect of that topic. The next day she felt apprehensive and nervously hit publish. Your articles are brilliant and very helpful. . Strong verbs modify an internal vowel sound to form the preterite, while weak verbs use the suffix ‘-ed’ or ‘-d’ to form the preterite. To stumble, to wobble, to swing, to lurch, to glide, to zip, to sail, to crash, to dive, to tiptoe, to pussyfoot, to duck, to flip-flop, to dilly-dally, to linger, to stall, to sway, to sink, to spurt, to hurry, to dash, to nip, to race, to whiz, to flit, to chew, to stroll, to sashay, to amble, to plod, to ramble, to loiter, to meander, to roam, to snake, to gallivant, to twist, to dance, to jig, to jive, to waltz, to tango, to swirl, to hop, to trip, to skip, to whirl, to gallop, to stride, to zoom, to trot, to dart, to sprint, to shoot, to leap. He secretly listened eavesdropped while they discussed their plans. The fox ran quickly dashed through the forest. I love how you contrast strong action words with the simple “I sat.” The contrast is further stressed because you have a long sentence, then a super-short one. These are the verbs we call irregular, and they are a mere 180 additions to a mental lexicon that already numbers in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Take on any writing project with gusto. They are very interesting to learn from and really do assist me to learn the difference between different nouns, verbs, pronouns etc. Already saved the verbs to my swipe file , As a non-native speaker, I know the pain of searching for the right word. At first glance, the prospects do not seem good. You don’t always need stronger verbs. I love how you explained “strong verbs” and how to use them to add life to our writing. In this article, I have followed the meaning of strong verbs like William Zinsser uses in his book “On Writing Well.” For example, this is a quote from his book: “Again and again in careless writing, strong verbs are weakened by redundant adverbs.” (page 68 in the 30th anniversary edition) It’s similar to the quote on weak verbs I use in the picture at the top of this page. For instance: He clomped toward me, grabbed my sweatshirt in his filthy fist, and dragged me to the folding chair, which clattered as I bumped it. In order to form the forms, the division into regular and irregular Verbs is fundamental. Hi Nicholas – I’m aware of the grammatical interpretation of strong vs weak verbs. ‘He uses few adjectives and adverbs to keep his writing fast-paced.’ That’s the main thing. Excellent job and fun to read. And now my task begins, to translate your list of strong verbs into Dutch Somehow I have always thought of English as the more powerful language. Quoted by Lewis Burke Frumkes in Favorite Words of Famous People: A Celebration of Superior Words From Writers, Educators, Scientists, and Humorists.
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