very well
Replace the “very” in your sentence
291–295 of 295 posts
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#292Earlier quoted context omitted.
I recall getting into trouble at school for (probably argumentatively & disruptively) pointing out occurrences of 'said' in published works, which is the word I remember being taught not to use more so than 'very'. They wanted every bit of dialogue to be broadcast or yelled or shouted or explained or cried and so on. If you actually read something like that it's bloody tedious, unless you're going for Homeric I think…
Yeah, I was also taught the silly rule in school that you shouldn't say "said" all the time. I don't know where it comes from, but texts that use this rule extensively just read like what a schoolkid would write, not an actual author. The point of careful and nuanced words is that you should use them where it matters . In many cases, especially in prose, it doesn't and "said" is more than enough. (oh and also, despit…
> despite its flowery language at times, Homeric language is full of repetitive turns of phrases too
Absolutely, as I understand it that's believed to be a direct result of it being passed down orally, a technique for memorisation.
I just meant that the dialogue is generally colourfully exclaimed, never merely 'said'; though plenty of those individual words even (for describing how it's.. said) are repeated endlessly.
Though, I've only read one English translation, so I did hesitate to draw the comparison. I assume no respectable translator would start 'flowering up' a text like that if it did hypothetically say the equivalent of 'said' all the time though.
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#293"So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays." -- The Dead Poets Society
According to losethevery.com: very + tired = spent very + sad = miserable I'm not sure which I prefer. You are going for a more specific word, so the accuracy depends on the context.
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Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#294"So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays." -- The Dead Poets Society
According to losethevery.com: very + tired = spent very + sad = miserable I'm not sure which I prefer. You are going for a more specific word, so the accuracy depends on the context.
No post body was provided.
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#295"So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays." -- The Dead Poets Society
According to losethevery.com: very + tired = spent very + sad = miserable I'm not sure which I prefer. You are going for a more specific word, so the accuracy depends on the context.
No post body was provided.