Few things do more to distinguish skilled writers from amateurs than the way in which they use adverbs (words that modify verbs and usually end with -ly). The following examples demonstrate why:
Example 1: Jane ran quickly past the guard, jumped high over the counter, and grabbed him roughly out of his chair.
Example 2: Jane sprinted past the guard, hurdled the counter, and yanked him out of his chair.
The first example, while grammatically correct, is wordy and awkward. The second tells the same story with fewer words by using descriptive verbs instead of adverbs. Experienced writers tend to have larger vocabularies than the average person and so they can conjure up colorful verbs to describe actions rather than relying on adverbs.
For example, how awkward would it sound if The Incredible Hulk’s catchphrase were “Hulk hit very hard” instead of the much simpler “Hulk smash”?
The ancient Greeks admired writers and speakers who could say a lot in a few words and we aren’t much different today so try to keep your writing free of unnecessary clutter.
