"Be" Verbs

Be Cautious of Be Verbs

Some of the "Be" verbs are: am, are, was, were, is, being, been, had, has, having, have been, being, do, did, done, does, doing.

Some people call them "taboo" words and try to get students to avoid them in everything they write. But don't give up your "be" verbs -- know when you want them and use them.

Take a look at your "be" verbs. If you use a lot of them, you may be wordy. You may be loading your sentences with nouns (often in prepositional phrases), too. However, you may need those "be" verbs to say what you need to say.

1. Would using a action verb work better than the "be" verb?

	Melissa is the type who thinks she's right. [Melissa thinks she's right.]
	His facial expression was an indication that he was wrong. [His face convinced us that he was wrong.]
	It was an exaggeration made by Germaine. [Germaine exaggerated.]
	It was a commitment that they had shown. [They showed a commitment.]
	Noriko was in an aggressive frame of mind when she shouted at Akiko. [Noriko aggressively attacked Akiko's opinions.]

2. Do "be" verbs delay your point or make your sentence wordy?

	It was true that she was a late-bloomer. [She was a late-bloomer.]
	There was a hamster found in the basement. [A hamster was found in the basement.]
	It was difficult for him to go. [He couldn't go.]

Most writers would agree that using active verbs rather than "be" verbs strengthens your writing.

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Last revised: November 19, 2009 by Jan Strever -- jstrever@scc.spokane.edu
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