Newsletter and Grammar Coach

When Ralph and Sheila decided to install a ceiling fan in their living room, they found an overwhelming array of styles and sizes at their nearby hardware store. They didn’t feel like spending a lot of time looking, so they quickly settled on a 42-inch model, which looked deceptively large in the store display. It was less than half the price of a 54-inch model that cost $500.

After installation of the 42-inch fan, they learned, unfortunately, that they shouldn’t have been so hasty. The fan didn’t circulate enough air to cover their entire living room. They made another trip to the hardware store — this time to buy a table fan and a box fan to reinforce the new but inadequate ceiling fan.

Writers can experience comparable shortcomings when they choose inadequate adverbs to modify verbs and adjectives. Weak or bland adverbs often require reinforcement with other words known as “intensifiers” or moderation with “qualifiers” to add missing detail.

Intensifiers include “very,” “really,” “quite,” “extremely,” “rather,” “tremendously,” “exceptionally,” “totally,” “highly,” “immensely,” “awfully,” “amazingly,” “incredibly” and other similar bracing terms that bolster the power of a word. “Qualifiers” are the opposite; they are used to soften the intensity of a word. Qualifiers include “hardly,” “rarely,” “somewhat,” “usually,” “slightly,” “sometimes” and “sort of.” Both intensifiers and qualifiers are used to describe the degree of the word they are modifying.

Many editors and grammarians advise restraint in using intensifiers and qualifiers. They regard them as indicative of lazy writing, because more precise, strongly descriptive words often are available in place of the combination of a weak word and an intensifier or qualifier.

Instead of calling someone “very smart,” for example, the single word “astute” (the ability to quickly and accurately assess conditions), “perceptive” (having or exhibiting sensitivity and insight), or “brilliant” (gifted or talented) might be a better choice, depending upon context and intended meaning.

“Incredibly hot” weather could be better described as “sweltering,” “scorching,” “blistering,” “searing,” “stifling” or “torrid.”

A situation that someone calls “highly unlikely” is “improbable” (not likely to occur) or “implausible” (not probable).

Someone who is “quite a good guitar player” could be more precisely described as a “talented,” “masterful,” “proficient” or “virtuoso” guitarist.

A “really tasty” meal might better be described as “luscious” (having a pleasingly rich or sweet taste), “savory” (aromatically seasoned), “scrumptious” (bursting with flavor), “delectable” (mouthwatering, succulent) or “flavorful” (having a full, distinctive taste).

Instead of describing someone as feeling “totally tired,” try “exhausted,” “fatigued,” “sapped” or “debilitated.”

The mobile phone service executive who issued a statement that he was “incredibly angry” about a data breach could have more eloquently characterized the degree of his vexation as “irate,” “furious,” “incensed,” “fuming,” “indignant” or any of several other more specific adjectives that do not need an intensifier.

“Extremely dangerous” circumstances might be more accurately characterized as “treacherous” (hazardous due to hidden or unpredictable danger), “perilous” (presenting imminent risk of danger or ruin) or “menacing“ (threatening or likely to cause harm).

A situation that “hardly ever” occurs can be better described as taking place “scarcely” or “seldom.”

Someone who “rarely smiles” could be considered “dour” (severe, stern or gloomy), “surly” (irritable or unfriendly), “sullen” (sulky, gloomy) or “dismal” (dreary or aloof).

A new report announcing that “stocks moved slightly higher on Wall Street this morning following six days of steady decline” could have benefited from a more vivid verb — for example, “stocks inched higher on Wall Street,” “stock prices crept higher,” “stock prices eased higher” or “stock prices edged higher.”

Finding replacements for weak verbs that require reinforcement doesn’t necessarily require an immense vocabulary. You need only a thesaurus, which lists synonyms and related concepts for words. Use it to search for more precise equivalents of weak words, and replace the ones you can.

We’re pretty big fans of our thesaurus.

Following publication of his two-volume Walker-Stefani family history, Larry Walker set about documenting another aspect of his memoirs: the establishment and early years of the family-owned business, Larry Walker Associates (LWA), an environmental engineering and water quality management consulting firm based in Davis, Yolo County, California.

His recollections form the narrative of his third book, Walker-Stefani Family History, Part 3: The Family Business, Larry Walker Associates, Inc. — The First 25 Years. As he did with his two prior books, Larry used EditPros’ Book Prep service to enable him to publish his work. He based the account on his personal recollections, records and the activities in which he was directly involved as company president. The narrative, which Larry prepared for his existing family members and descendants, describes the first 25 years of LWA operation, from 1979 through 2004.

Larry had worked for nine years as an employee of a consulting engineering firm and for seven years at the California State Water Resources Control Board before deciding to establish his own consulting engineering firm, LWA. Walker-Stefani Family History, Part 3: The Family Business is organized in sections describing the startup years (1979–1980), the formative years (1980–1989), the growth years (1990–2004), and the transition of ownership to his children (2005). He attributes the success of the company to its key employees, to the LWA guiding values, and to the company's integrity in delivering valuable services to clients.

"It is easy to look back and reflect on LWA's success and the positive aspects of its history," Larry wrote in the narrative. "But for those of us who were involved, there were long hours, frustrations, disappointments, mistakes, and disagreements. The same is true with most businesses. While some of these are addressed in this history, on balance it focuses on the positive. Who wants to reflect on the negative?"

Although Larry intentionally has not made the 102-page book available for sale to the public, he is able to purchase as many copies as he wants at the wholesale price, to give to family members and friends. This is the 41st book that Book Prep has produced for authors during the past six years.

For authors who do want to make their books available commercially in both print and digital editions, EditPros formats and converts the book files into e-book formats for sale through Amazon (Kindle), Apple (iBooks), Barnes & Noble (Nook), and Kobo, by means of submission to IngramSpark's e-book service.

As part of the Book Prep package, EditPros professionally formatted the cover and interior pages of Walker-Stefani Family History, Part 3: The Family Business, Larry Walker Associates, and readied it for print publication.

With Book Prep, authors retain all rights to their books, and collect 100 percent of sales royalties.

We invite you to LEARN MORE about the EditPros Book Prep service.

Roland K. wrote:

The grammar coach replies:

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