4 Easy Tips for Improving Your Word Choice and Upping Your Creative Writing Game: Getting Rid of To-Be Verbs 

A lot of novice creative writers struggle to create engaging sentences using effective word choice, and many of these writers aren’t even aware that issues with their word choice exist. Issues with word choice can make writing feel dull and colorless, despite how exciting the story might be. 

There is one issue in particular that plagues many new creative writers. Many of these writers tend to overuse to-be and linking verbs. Let’s quickly sum up what these are.

Definition of to be verbs

To-be verbs, also called being verbs or permanent linking verbs, are the different forms of the verb to be: 

• be
• am
• is
• are
• was
• were
• being
• been

To-be verbs are considered linking verbs. So what are linking verbs? 

Definition of linking verbs

A linking verb is a verb that links a subject to its subject complement. In other words, this verb links a subject to a word, phrase, or clause that describes that subject. For example, in the sentence “Maya is quiet,” the verb is links the subject Maya to the word quiet. (Other linking verbs besides being verbs will be discussed below.) 

Here are four useful methods for cutting down on or getting rid of to be verbs in your writing:

1. Replace to-be verbs with other linking verbs.

Sometimes, it might be a good idea to replace to-be verbs with other linking verbs. As discussed above, linking verbs are verbs that link a subject to its subject complement. (Read more about subject complements in our blog post on subjects, predicates, objects, and complements.)

Some linking verbs describe states of being. These include: 

• appear
• become
• seem

Some linking verbs are sensory verbs that describe how a subject is experienced through the senses. These descriptions can still be considered states of being; the verbs simply describe the subject’s state of being as experienced through one of the five senses: 

• look
• sound
• taste
• smell
• feel 

There are many more linking verbs beyond those listed above. 

Replacing to be verbs with other descriptive verbs will vary your word choice and liven up your prose: 

• I am upset. → I feel upset. 
• Maya is quiet. → Maya appears quiet.
• The stew was delicious. → The stew tasted delicious. 
• Her solutions were problematic. → Her solutions proved problematic.

2. Find a way to use action verbs rather than linking verbs. 

Unfortunately, overusing linking verbs and failing to use enough action verbs can still result in dull prose. This is because a string of sentences that exclusively uses linking verbs shows readers only what the sentences’ subjects are being rather than what they are doing. One great method for how to get rid of linking verbs is to describe what subjects are doing by instead using action verbs. What are action verbs? 

Definition of action verbs

Action verbs are verbs that describe subjects’ actions. These verbs can be intransitive (meaning that they don’t take objects), or they can be transitive (meaning they take direct objects). Including action verbs makes the writing feel more, well, active, and this is because readers can envision the actions. Action verbs can make writing come to life. 

Using an action verb instead of a linking verb isn’t always possible, though. If a sentence requires a subject complement—something that describes what the subject is being rather than what the subject is doing—then a linking verb will be required. Descriptive writing inevitably uses linking verbs (including to-be verbs), and this is fine! 

Just remember that it’s a good idea to aim for a combination of linking verbs and action verbs, as well as other verb types.

It’s also important to note that using an action verb instead of a linking verb isn’t always easy. Sometimes, using an action verb will require a lot more revision involving both word choice and sentence structure revisions. Let’s look at some examples: 

• The milk went sour. → The milk spoiled.
• The little boy became angry. → The little boy reacted in anger. 
• The stew tasted delicious. → The stew dazzled my tastebuds. 
• She felt hot. → Her body temperature rose.

Distinguishing between linking and action verbs 

As you try to replace some of your linking verbs with action verbs, keep in mind that many verbs can be both linking and action verbs; how they are classified depends on how they’re being used! For example, consider these two sentences: 

• Mary looked beautiful. 
• Mary looked for her dog.

In the first sentence, “looked” is a linking verb, as it links “Mary” to the subject complement “beautiful.” “Looked” here is describing what Mary is being (she’s being or “looking” beautiful). In comparison, the verb “looked” in the second sentence is an action verb, as it describes what Mary is doing: she is looking for her dog.

Check out Grammarly’s post on linking verbs for more info about how to differentiate between linking and action verbs. 

Now, let’s look at another method for how to get rid of to-be verbs:

3. Get rid of any unnecessary uses of the progressive tense.

Sometimes, to-be verbs are used to form the progressive tense. The use of the progressive tense shows readers that an action is currently and continuously happening, that it was continuously happening in the past, or that it will be continuously happening in the future. 

Unless the use of the progressive tense is necessary to showcase continuity, you can easily eliminate the to be verbs used to form this tense. 

Here are some examples of how this can be done: 

• The wand was crackling with a fierce magical energy. → The wand crackled with a fierce magical energy.
• Her hands are trembling as she sits. → Her hands tremble as she sits. 
• Jenny was thinking about going. → Jenny thought about going.

Finally, here’s one more method for avoiding to-be verbs:

4. Get rid of any unnecessary uses of the passive voice.

Other times, to-be verbs are used to form the passive voice. The passive voice is created using a form of the verb be + a past participle. 

There are some good reasons to use the passive voice, including 1) If the actor (the subject doing the acting) isn’t known (e.g., “The girl was kidnapped”), or 2) if you want to highlight the person or thing being acted upon (e.g., “The book was written by R. L. Stine”). However, if the passive use is used without necessity, then the to-be verbs used to form the passive tense will also feel unnecessary. Changing unnecessary uses of the passive voice to the active voice will resolve this problem. 

To get rid of the passive voice, you should switch the subject and the object so that the subject is the actor (i.e., the person, place, or thing doing the acting) and so that the object is the thing being acted upon.

Here are some examples: 

• The boy was upset by the TV commercial and cried. → The TV commercial upset the boy, who cried. 
• The students were ushered into the classroom by the teacher. → The teacher ushered the students into the classroom.”

There you go! These are four ways you can eliminate being and other linking verbs, which should improve your word choice and make your writing feel more active and engaging. Can you think of any other ways to avoid to-be verbs? If so, feel free to share your idea in the comments.