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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Do You Really, Truly, Actually Need That Adverb?

Along my quest of editing The Long and Winding Road into its eventual end product, I've butted heads with many adverbs. Some say to never use them, but they're part of our language for a reason, right? At the same time, I do see them weakening verbs and adjectives from time to time. So, if it's all right to keep them sometimes, and it's all right to nix them sometimes, when do I do what?

I decided to make a sort of flowchart for my own theory on proper adverb use, as a reference during editing.


What do you think? Decent adverb theory? What's your stance on the dreaded modifiers?

2 comments:

  1. I could probably benefit from this, seeing how often I use the words 'really,' 'pretty,' 'very' and the like in my reviews. XD

    I never really had a problem with adverbs, though, except I think I rely on them too much in review-writing and when I can't think of anything else to say in conversation.

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    1. I mean, they naturally occur when we talk, so they're not evil in all forms of communication.

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