How to Eliminate "To-Be" Verbs in Writing. Every English teacher has a sure-fire revision tip that makes developing writers dig down deep and revise initial drafts. One of my favorites involves reducing the number of “to-be-verbs”: is, am, are, was, were, be, being, and been. At this point, even before I begin to plead my case, I hear the grumbling of the contrarians. One of them mutters a snide, rhetorical question: Didn’t Shakespeare say “To be, or not to be: that is the question:”?
He used three “to-be” verbs right there! If it’s good enough for Shakespeare, it’s good enough for me. What’s So Wrong with “To-Be” Verbs? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Adapted from Ken Ward’s E-Prime article at Problem-Solving Strategies to Eliminate the “To-Be” Verb 1. 2. 3. 4. A Teaching Plan to Eliminate the “To-Be” Verb 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Also see How to Teach Helping Verbs for similar strategies to improve student writing. Be Sociable, Share! Untitled Document. 'Hot 100' News Writing Tips (Compiled by Sheryl Swingley) 1.
Keep leads short. Those with 35 words or less are preferred. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. Return to the Writer's Workshop . Disney Magic English Educational and Fun Discs 1-10. Disney's Magic English Educational and Fun Discs 1-10 English | AVI | 1438 kb/s | 352x256, 25.00 fps | MP3 128 kb/s | 2.54 GBGenre: eLearning What better way to teach your children the English language than with Walt Disney characters they all love!
A perfect combination between education and diversion: stories, songs and games have been developed and made by a team of qualified experts in the education of English. Disney Magic English is a fun way for children to learn the English language along with their favourite Disney characters The interactive DVD and activity books bring educational adventures to life with stories, songs, and games! Disney's Magic English makes learning fun and enjoyable ' just like playing a game! Each part of the program has been developed in close collaboration with highly qualified education specialists in the English Language. English Phrasal Verbs. What is a Phrasal Verb? Phrasal verbs (also called multi-word verbs) are idiomatic expressions, combining verbs and prepositions to make new verbs whose meaning is often not obvious from the dictionary definitions of the individual words.
They are widely used in both written and spoken English, and new ones are formed all the time as they are a flexible way of creating new terms. A phrasal verb consists of a verb and a preposition or adverb that modifies or changes the meaning; 'give up' is a phrasal verb that means 'stop doing' something, which is very different from 'give'. The word or words that modify a verb in this manner can also go under the name particle. Phrasal verbs can be divided into groups: Intransitive verbs These don't take an object Example: They had an argument, but they've made up now.
Inseparable verbs The object must come after the particle. Example: They are looking after their grandchildren. Separable verbs In our phrasal verb list, we classify these as Separable [optional] IELTS International English language test system | Take IELTS. Adverbs: Form and Function - Lección de Inglés: Los adverbios: La forma y el funcionamiento- English dictionary & thesaurus, translation from English to Spanish & Turkish and Spanish to English - Cambridge Dictionary Online. How to Write an A+ Research Paper. This Chapter outlines the logical steps to writing a good research paper.
To achieve supreme excellence or perfection in anything you do, you need more than just the knowledge. Like the Olympic athlete aiming for the gold medal, you must have a positive attitude and the belief that you have the ability to achieve it. That is the real start to writing an A+ research paper. Choose a topic which interests and challenges you. Your attitude towards the topic may well determine the amount of effort and enthusiasm you put into your research.
Focus on a limited aspect, e.g. narrow it down from "Religion" to "World Religion" to "Buddhism". Obtain teacher approval for your topic before embarking on a full-scale research. Select a subject you can manage. Surf the Net. For general or background information, check out useful URLs, general information online, almanacs or encyclopedias online such as Britannica. To find books in the Library use the OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog). Read and evaluate. How to Use English Punctuation Correctly (with examples) Steps Part 1 Using Proper Capitalization 1Always start a sentence with a capital letter. Unless you're an avant-garde poet or you're starting a sentence with a brand name like "wikiHow" or "iPod," you will need to capitalize the first letter of every sentence. Part 2 Using End-of-Sentence Punctuation Marks 1Use a period (full stop) to end declarative sentences and statements.
Part 3 Using Commas 1Use a comma to indicate a break or pause within a sentence. Part 4 Using Colons and Semicolons 1Use a semicolon to separate two related but independent clauses. Part 5 Using Hyphens and Dashes 1Use a hyphen when adding a prefix to some words. Part 6 Using Apostrophes 1Use the apostrophe together with the letter s to indicate possession. Part 7 Using Slashes 1Use the slash to separate and from or, when appropriate. Part 8 Using Miscellaneous Punctuation Marks Community Q&A Add New Question How do I punctuate the title of a book in a sentence? Ask a Question Tips Warnings Article Info Featured Article. HyperGrammar.
Welcome to HyperGrammar electronic grammar course at the University of Ottawa's Writing Centre. This course covers approximately the same ground as our English department's ENG 1320 Grammar course. The content of HyperGrammar is the result of the collaborative work of the four instructors who were teaching the course in Fall 1993: Heather MacFadyen, David Megginson, Frances Peck, and Dorothy Turner. David Megginson was then responsible for editing the grammar and exercises and for converting them to SGML. This package is designed to allow users a great deal of freedom and creativity as they read about grammar. HyperGrammar allows users to create and follow their own lines of thought. On its first appearance on any page, every grammatical term is linked to its definition.
This package is currently under construction! * This site uses the Oxford dictionary spelling. We do not offer any writing help by e-mail. No permission is required to link to this site. Written by David Megginson (editor) Homework Center: Writing Skills.