20 More Smothered Verbs Set Free

20 More Smothered Verbs Set Free 20 More Smothered Verbs Set Free 20 More Smothered Verbs Set Free By Mark Nichol In the interests of trying to help prevent the smothering deaths of countless sentences, here’s a public-service announcement about how to avoid this senseless tragedy: If a noun phrase (verb plus preposition plus article plus noun, though variations are frequent) can be condensed by converting the noun to a verb and deleting the other words in the phrase, do it. It’s easy enough to write a sentence with a smothered verb I did it myself in a post last week (â€Å"The strategy has been a failure in reducing costs† is easily reduced to â€Å"The strategy failed to reduce costs.†) We’re likely to employ such sentence-stretching strategies in speech, but in writing, we have the opportunity to that is, we can make amends. Here are more examples: 1. See example above. 2. â€Å"The latter conclusion provides an example of the combination of risk factors at different levels.† â€Å"The latter conclusion exemplifies the combination of risk factors at different levels.† 3. â€Å"Call a stop to (or â€Å"put a stop to†) this nonsense.† â€Å"Stop this nonsense.† 4. â€Å"I’m glad they’ve come to an agreement.† â€Å"I’m glad they agree.† 5. â€Å"We’re here to conduct an investigation.† â€Å"We’re here to investigate.† 6. â€Å"They decided to conduct a review.† â€Å"They conducted a review.† (The original version is valid, however, if the review has not yet been conducted.) 7. â€Å"She conducted experiments into tearing the fabric of the space-time continuum.† â€Å"She experimented with tearing the fabric of the space-time continuum.† 8. â€Å"I’d like to extend an invitation for you to attend.† â€Å"I’d like to invite you to attend.† (Or, even more directly, â€Å"I invite you to attend.†) 9. â€Å"He didn’t give an indication of his plans.† â€Å"He didn’t indicate his plans.† 10. â€Å"They agreed to give consideration to his proposal.† â€Å"They considered his proposal.† 11. â€Å"I had a discussion with her about that very issue.† â€Å"I discussed that very issue with her.† 12. â€Å"We have a tendency to get carried away sometimes.† â€Å"We tend to get carried away sometimes.† (Or, even more directly, â€Å"We get carried away sometimes.†) 13. â€Å"Will the new policy have an effect on our procedures?† â€Å"Will the new policy affect our procedures?† 14. â€Å"They plan to hold a conference (or meeting) about the issue soon.† â€Å"They plan to confer (or meet) about the issue soon.† (Or â€Å"They will confer (or meet) about the issue soon,† though the meaning is slightly different.) 15. â€Å"The president is expected to make a statement about his opposition to the proposal later today.† â€Å"The president is expected to state his opposition to the proposal later today.† (The meaning is not identical, but the condensed sentence is valid.) 16. â€Å"I will make (or undertake) an examination of the premises immediately.† â€Å"I will examine the premises immediately.† 17. â€Å"The committee will perform an assessment of the situation.† â€Å"The committee will assess the situation.† 18. â€Å"We expect to realize a substantial savings.† â€Å"We expect to save substantially.† 19. â€Å"She stated with confidence that she will win by a landslide.† â€Å"She is confident that she will win by a landslide.† 20. â€Å"Are you interested in submitting an application?† â€Å"Are you interested in applying?† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Coordinating vs. Subordinating ConjunctionsWhenever vs. When EverOppose and Opposed To

Free Essays on American Dreams

American Dream Compare â€Å"Hester Street† and â€Å"Eat a Bowl of Tea† Many years ago, people have immigrated to a new world where they can hope for a more beautiful existence, for the wealth, for the freedoms, for the better opportunities and most importantly, for the American Dreams. As each new era of foreigners migrate to America, they face the obstacle of conforming to mainstream America. As â€Å"Hester Street† and â€Å"Eat a Bowl of Tea† portrayed, immigrants come to this land of opportunities with the hopes and dreams of a better life for themselves or their families. In â€Å"Hester Street†, Jake, a Russian Jewish immigrant who lived in New York's Lower East Side for five years, leaving his wife behind, and taking up with a new woman and earning enough money to support his dance hall ways. On the other hand, in â€Å"Eat a bowel of tea†, Wah Gay is a traditional Chinese immigrant who owns a club in Chinatown, and sends all his money to his wife back in China, who he has not seen in 20 years because of the inequitable immigration laws that had prevented Chinamen bringing their women into the country. These immigrants fall within a lower social class, as a result they strive to conform to a more facilitating and suitable lifestyle. As they begin to build a new life in America, they face the process of assimilation. America holds an idea of a mainstream society; consequently those individuals not fitting this image are left with feelings of abandonment and insecurity. As a result, they feel pressured in achieving the American dream. Let’s look at the examples the movies give us. In â€Å"Hester Street†, Jake, a self-made Yankee, has abandoned the traditions of his culture by cutting off his beard and earlocks, and he has adopted the mannerisms of his new country, including a new girlfriend who runs a dance hall. When his wife Gitl and son Yossele join him from the Old World, Jake was embarrassed. He ... Free Essays on American Dreams Free Essays on American Dreams American Dream Compare â€Å"Hester Street† and â€Å"Eat a Bowl of Tea† Many years ago, people have immigrated to a new world where they can hope for a more beautiful existence, for the wealth, for the freedoms, for the better opportunities and most importantly, for the American Dreams. As each new era of foreigners migrate to America, they face the obstacle of conforming to mainstream America. As â€Å"Hester Street† and â€Å"Eat a Bowl of Tea† portrayed, immigrants come to this land of opportunities with the hopes and dreams of a better life for themselves or their families. In â€Å"Hester Street†, Jake, a Russian Jewish immigrant who lived in New York's Lower East Side for five years, leaving his wife behind, and taking up with a new woman and earning enough money to support his dance hall ways. On the other hand, in â€Å"Eat a bowel of tea†, Wah Gay is a traditional Chinese immigrant who owns a club in Chinatown, and sends all his money to his wife back in China, who he has not seen in 20 years because of the inequitable immigration laws that had prevented Chinamen bringing their women into the country. These immigrants fall within a lower social class, as a result they strive to conform to a more facilitating and suitable lifestyle. As they begin to build a new life in America, they face the process of assimilation. America holds an idea of a mainstream society; consequently those individuals not fitting this image are left with feelings of abandonment and insecurity. As a result, they feel pressured in achieving the American dream. Let’s look at the examples the movies give us. In â€Å"Hester Street†, Jake, a self-made Yankee, has abandoned the traditions of his culture by cutting off his beard and earlocks, and he has adopted the mannerisms of his new country, including a new girlfriend who runs a dance hall. When his wife Gitl and son Yossele join him from the Old World, Jake was embarrassed. He ...

Write ten personal strategies you can employ to help you deal with Article

Write ten personal strategies you can employ to help you deal with stress - Article Example First strategy that can be used to ensure that there is no stress at all is to recall that no matter what happens, an individual would not take stress in entirety. He would remain contented with whatever is available at his disposal and thus be satisfied with the things around him in a professional way. He would feel that he is completely at ease with the surroundings around him and would in no way fall for such nuances of stress which would further deflate his individual self. This is a clear indication of how well he handles stress and how he can keep away such issues in the future as well. The second strategy that can be listed here is of seeking someone’s help and assistance so that the stress epidemic does not actually creep into the individual’s system. It would mean he is taking help from an elder or soliciting advice that shall solve the problem at hand. This is a very significant undertaking that can reduce stress immensely and would handle the long term stressful conditions that come about as a result of the same. Help is always easily available because people readily give out their assistance to the ones who are professionally fatigues and do not know where to end up (Shuttleworth, 2004). The third such strategy is to heal one’s own self through certain exercises which would relieve this individual of stress. This would mean that he would undergo different acts and behaviors which would not burden his mind at all, rather assist him in understanding the nuances related with stress and how it can be kept at a safe distance from his peculiar domains. Even though this requires persistence on the part of the person under question, it also demands a great deal of motivation by the people around him at all times. The fourth strategy which can be employed here is of soliciting help and facilitation from medical counselors who would tell exactly where this person is lacking professionally and what he needs to do in order to move ahead further in life.