Skip to content

Action Verbs

Action verbs rule; “be” verbs are lame.

Action verbs: chase, run, kill, cry, wail, scream, etc.

Be verbs: is, am, are, was, were, be, (this includes linking verbs like appear, feel, seem, look, smell, sound, taste, grow, etc.)

LAME SENTENCE

She is beautiful.

COOL SENTENCE

She walks in beauty.

Notice that the action verb walks gives life and pulse to the woman. Lord Byron wrote this sentence two hundred years ago:

“She walks in beauty like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies.”

LAME SENTENCE

It is morning.

COOL SENTENCE

The morning walks over the hill.

The verb walks gives life to the abstract concept of the morning. William Shakespeare wrote it that way four hundred years ago:

“The morn, in russet mantle clad, walks o’er the dew of yon high eastern hill.”

LAME It was cold.
COOL The cold cut through us.
LAME The teacher seemed angry.
COOL The teacher bellowed with rage.

Action Verbs Quiz

You will be asked to choose either the BEST or the WORST sentence from each group of choices in this quiz.
Start

Congratulations - you have completed Action Verbs Quiz.

You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%.

Your performance has been rated as %%RATING%%


Your answers are highlighted below.
Return
Shaded items are complete.
12345
678910
End
Return