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active verbs

The Rules of Writing: No Gerunds?

May 10, 2018March 14, 2020 / Gifford MacShane / 1 Comment

While doing research recently for an ESL student, I came across another “rule of writing”, to wit: Don't use gerunds; they make your writing weak. To qualify as a gerund a word must be: a verb with an “ing” suffix that performs the job of a noun. Take these sentences as examples: I like hiking. … Continue reading The Rules of Writing: No Gerunds?

The Rules of Writing: A Built-In Paradox

October 3, 2015March 14, 2020 / Gifford MacShane / 7 Comments

The Rules of Writing.  So many of them are subject to discussion, if not passionate argument.  The Oxford comma, the em-dash, the sentence fragment: you're on one side or the other.  Hardly anyone stands on the fence. Two of the most popular and oft-quoted Rules are: 1.) Use a stronger verb instead of a verb … Continue reading The Rules of Writing: A Built-In Paradox

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