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Expanding vocabulary by choosing exciting verbs to describe character actions.
Have you ever watched a movie where the characters just stood still and did nothing? Probably not! Stories need action to be exciting, and action verbs are the secret ingredients that make your stories come to life.
Every sentence needs an engine to make it move. In English, that engine is called an action verb. An action verb is a word that tells you what a person, animal, or object is doing.
Think of a puppy. What can a puppy do? It can wiggle, bark, jump, or nap. Each of those words is an action verb! Without these words, we wouldn't know what is happening in the story. When you look for a verb, ask yourself: 'Can I do this with my body or mind?' If the answer is yes, it is likely an action verb.
Let's find the action verb in a simple sentence: 1. Look at the sentence: 'The green frog hops onto the lily pad.' 2. Ask: What is the frog doing? 3. The frog is hopping. 4. Therefore, 'hops' is our action verb!
Quick Check
In the sentence 'The tall giant stomps through the forest,' what is the action verb?
Answer
stomps
Some verbs are a little bit 'sleepy.' Words like walk, run, or go tell us the action, but they don't show us a clear picture. We call these common verbs.
To be a master writer, you want to use strong verbs. A strong verb is more specific. Instead of saying 'The boy walked,' you can use a verb that shows how he walked. - Did he tiptoe because he was being quiet? - Did he stomp because he was angry? - Did he trudge because he was tired?
Using strong verbs is like switching from a black-and-white drawing to a full-color painting!
Let's upgrade the verb 'ran' to something more exciting. 1. Sentence: 'The athlete ran across the finish line.' 2. Think: How does an athlete run? They run very fast! 3. New Sentence: 'The athlete sprinted across the finish line.' 4. By using 'sprinted,' the reader knows the character was moving at top speed.
Quick Check
Which verb is 'stronger' and gives a clearer picture: 'ate' or 'gobbled'?
Answer
gobbled
Strong verbs do more than just show movement; they show emotion. You don't have to tell your reader 'The girl was sad.' You can show it with a verb!
If the girl slumped into her chair, we know she might be sad or tired. If she leaped into her chair, we know she is excited!
Imagine a cat seeing a mouse. We want to show the cat is being very sneaky. 1. Start with a common verb: 'The cat went toward the mouse.' (Boring!) 2. Add the feeling of 'sneaky': 'The cat prowled toward the mouse.' 3. Add the feeling of 'fast': 'The cat pounced on the mouse.' 4. Notice how 'prowled' and 'pounced' tell a much better story than 'went'!
Which of these words is an action verb?
Which strong verb best replaces 'walked' if a character is trying to be very quiet?
Strong verbs help the reader 'see' the story better in their mind.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, look at your pet or a family member. Can you think of three 'strong verbs' to describe how they are moving?
Practice Activity
Pick a boring sentence like 'The man went to the store.' Rewrite it three times using different strong verbs to change the man's mood!