TIP 5 Use strong verbs, especially monosyllabic verbs.

This tip shares one of the secrets of good writing that most writing books overlook: the value of short, strong verbs. Books about writing typically warn readers what to avoid — and I do that, too.

So here’s a secret: use vivid verbs, especially one-syllable verbs. There’s magic in monosyllabic verbs because they are easy to comprehend and tend to please readers’ ears. I love some longer verbs — auger, dragoon, dwindle, plummet, renege, tether, and many others — but I want to encourage you to pay attention to the punch that short verbs add to your prose.

Look back at Example 1.7, which I praised for its brisk pacing, and you’ll see that most of the verbs are monosyllabic. That’s no coincidence. Here’s an excerpt from that passage in which I mark each monosyllabic verb:

As Detective Murray stopped, he saw that the defendant had his sweatshirt or coat wrapped around his right hand near his right hip. Detective Murray yelled to the defendant, “show me your hand.” At that point, and for the first time, Detective Murray raised his gun and pointed it at the defendant. The defendant then pulled his right hand out from under his clothing. As he did,Detective Murray saw that the defendant had a silver revolver in his hand, which the defendant raised and pointed at Detective Murray; the defendant’s finger was on the trigger. Detective Murray yelled “gun” to alert his fellow officers that the defendant had a weapon.

This paragraph, which is among the most engaging I’ve ever read in a brief, uses fifteen monosyllabic verbs. Do you really think the short verbs deserve none of the credit for the passage’s success? (It also averages just sixteen words per sentence.) Strong verbs plus short sentences usually equals good prose.

Table 3. Typical verbs vs. monosyllabic Verbs

And to see how verbs improve one’s prose, consider the two versions of hypothetical fact pattern shown in Table 3. The version on the left reflects typical legal style. The one on the right uses a number of monosyllabic verbs.

I want you to revel in the power of short verbs, so I’ve built a list more than 2,000 options for you in Appendix C. But don’t worry, the purpose of my list isn’t to nag you into cutting every long verb. I just want to arm you with a list of verbs to make you think about the sound of your words.

If you use strong verbs — without overdoing it — your prose will improve. You can use the basic verbs from Appendix C’s list nearly as often as you want: want, take, find, act, clear, lead. Avoid weak verbs (such as seem and be) unless you need to lean on those words. I recommend, however, that only one or two rarer monosyllabic verbs grace each page. (Those are the friskier verbs, such as bilk, blind, cramp, dwarf, drown, and doom.) If you use these verbs too often, readers will grow cloy to their charms.¹²

Try not to leash your verbs to a preposition. As the great stylist William Zinsser observed, “We don’t face problems anymore. We face up to them when we can free up a few minutes.” He then added, “Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can keep out of it that shouldn’t be there. ’Up’ in ’free up’ shouldn’t be there.”¹³ Some of the verbs on my list tend to be stalked by prepositions — bog down and glom onto and home in. They’re still better than most alternatives, but strive to find even leaner verbs.

In general, avoid both slang and extremely colloquial verbs that appear on the list.

Finally, realize that some of these verbs swell into two syllables when you use their past-tense form. For instance, “I boarded a plane and acted calm, even when the flight attendant swatted my phone from my hand.” So be it. This version is still better than “I participated in the boarding of the plane and attempted to appear unnerved, even when the flight attendant deployed the back of his hand to remove my phone forcibly.” When possible, use monosyllabic verbs (and past-tense verbs).