Many contemporary writing advice manuals tell us to avoid adverbs and their dubious conspirators, adjectives. Certainly, overuse of adverbs and adjectives make writing unnecessarily verbose and flowery. Often, the use of an adverb or adjective is unnecessary, or even worst, masks an ineffectual verb or noun. We cannot, however, strip our writing completely of these ubiquitous modifiers. How, then, can we achieve and effective balance between our use--on the one hand--nouns and verbs, and--on the other--adverbs and adjectives?
-
Welcome
to BookAndReader! We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!
Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.
Questions about adjectives and adverbs
- Thread starter laboi_22
- Start date
Stewart
Active Member
Use them sparingly unless you are writing the next Titus Groan.
If a dog sits by a shop door waiting for its owner then big deal. The dog is waiting by the door. However, if there is something about the dog's actions then you can use an adverb to show this. The dog is waiting restlessy by the door..
In the second example the adverb conveys some information. If we were to replace the word restlessly with patiently then The dog is waiting patiently by the door. doesn't really tell us anything and can be deemed redundant. If a dog sits by a door we can tell that it is being patient; of course, it would need to have a sense of time but I think you get the point.
Back to the dog on the subject of adjectives.
If there is something interesting about the dog then state it otherwise leave it as being a dog. The small dog walked past the shop. Does it matter that the dog is small in this sentence? No, so leave it out.
The keyword, I suppose, is interesting. If the word is useful to the narrative then use it otherwise it's superfluous and should be omitted.
If a dog sits by a shop door waiting for its owner then big deal. The dog is waiting by the door. However, if there is something about the dog's actions then you can use an adverb to show this. The dog is waiting restlessy by the door..
In the second example the adverb conveys some information. If we were to replace the word restlessly with patiently then The dog is waiting patiently by the door. doesn't really tell us anything and can be deemed redundant. If a dog sits by a door we can tell that it is being patient; of course, it would need to have a sense of time but I think you get the point.
Back to the dog on the subject of adjectives.
If there is something interesting about the dog then state it otherwise leave it as being a dog. The small dog walked past the shop. Does it matter that the dog is small in this sentence? No, so leave it out.
The keyword, I suppose, is interesting. If the word is useful to the narrative then use it otherwise it's superfluous and should be omitted.
Mari
New Member
Adverbs should be replaced with specifics that readers can picture. While Stewart's example does a good job of identifying adverbs that are useful instead of redundant, a writer could take it even further. "Restlessly" labels what the dog did, but what does "restlessly" look and sound like? What did the dog do while it was waiting that indicated it was restless? Describe that, and you don't need the adverb after all.
sirmyk
New Member
There is a genuine problem here with the dog waiting by the door, jumping into the air, and recursively turning to look at his owner, all at the same time (according to the sentence structure). Trying to imagine such an impossible spectacle taking place makes one cringe upon reading.laboi_22 said:
To describe the dogs restlessness, you need to give it an action. Although not a great example, perhaps something like this: The dog padded in circles, ears pricked every time the shop door opened.
I think the dog walking in circles shows it's restless, while the pricked ears shows that it's waiting for someone.
I think the dog walking in circles shows it's restless, while the pricked ears shows that it's waiting for someone.
leckert
New Member
You could make it even more interesting without using any useless adjectives or adverbs...
The dog realized his owner had abandoned him, and thought "**** it". He padded off to better explore a city only seen before from the confines of a leash.
See, only two inoccuous adverbs, and no adjectives (save necessary "a" and "the")
The dog realized his owner had abandoned him, and thought "**** it". He padded off to better explore a city only seen before from the confines of a leash.
See, only two inoccuous adverbs, and no adjectives (save necessary "a" and "the")
leckert
New Member
laboi_22 said:
Laboi, please don't be offended, but, the more of your writing I read, the more I think you would greatly benefit from some basic English courses. You could probably enroll in a Grammar 101, and probably a Creative Writing class for a reasonable investment. If you have already had these classes, then investigate further educational opportunities. I think a firmer grasp on the language would go a long way towards bettering your writing, and making it less painful to read.
Just a thought.