Change that verb!

There are some words that we use a lot. Sometimes that’s because they’re so useful,
but often common verbs are overused when there are much better ones to use in their
place. Look at these three culprits:

said went got

They’re all useful words, but we use them too often – and they don’t give us very much
information.

Task
Read these sentences:
1. Amy went to the kitchen and got her keys from the kitchen table. “I’m late” she
said to her husband, John.
2. Amy raced to the kitchen and grabbed her keys from the kitchen table. “I’m late”
she yelled at her husband, John.
Which sentence is better and why?

Task
Rewrite the following sentences replacing the common verbs with more interesting and
adventurous ones:

1. She ate her sandwich.

2. He said he didn’t care.

3. Steve got his homework

out of his bag.

4. Abdul took Sarah’s apple.

5. Corinne went to buy the

video game.

6. He looked around the

room.

7. Ms. Smith said, “Don’t do

that.”

8. Jamila put her bag down.

Task
Now write your own short story using adventurous verbs!

© www.teachitenglish.co.uk 2012 15344 Page 1 of 1