Creating lively, striking images is an important part of the writer’s craft. Active verbs generate vigorous prose. Compare: He was not afraid of the dog (which tells us something in timid, negative terms) and He strode up to the dog and glared back at it (which shows his contempt for the dog in a robust, positive statement).

They were pleased to see us home safe and sound. This tells, unemotionally, what could be made into a more evocative statement by showing what happened: They rushed to meet us with outstretched arms and tears of joy.

The inert verbs was, were, should, could, has been, had, and had been do not create action and vivid imagery, but tend to deaden the force of prose. Always prefer the active verb to the passive, make yourself the master of your tenses and watch your writing take on a new energy!

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