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I am reading William Zinsser's book "On Writing Well". In it he writes:

"But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb that carries the same meaning that's already in the verb, every passive construction that leaves the reader unsure of who is doing what - these are the thousand and one adulterants that weaken the strength of a sentence."

I am not sure what he means by adverbs that contain the same meaning that's already in the verb. Please provide me with examples of this and tips on how to avoid it. My goal is to learn how to identify instances where this happens and fix them.

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  • I think it means things like the loudly in "Bob shouted loudly."
    – Hellion
    Commented Mar 23, 2017 at 3:05
  • '... every adverb that carries a meaning that's already demanded by the verb'
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Sep 16, 2017 at 10:11

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I can't say to an absolute certainty, but from the context you gave it sounds like you shouldn't use an adverb that defines the verb.

He quickly sprinted across the courtyard.

In this example, we have the adverb quickly and the verb sprinted. In this case, you can't sprint without being quick about it, making it redundant. If you were to say:

He girlishly sprinted across the courtyard.

This adds information to the sentence and gives you wonderful imagery. Basically, he's saying to only use words and phrases that give value to your writing; you can't sprint without being quick, it's implied.

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  • Ah! If I say "he slowly crawled" that would be poor writing. I should say "he crawled". What if there are several sprinters and one is Usain Bolt? If I want to use an adverb to imply his sprinting is faster than the others how would I do that without breaking Zinsser's rule? Or should I not use an adverb to do that?
    – ana ng
    Commented Mar 23, 2017 at 2:20
  • @anang You can definitely use an adverb. It's up to your judgment. If you think that the adverb adds to the sentence, by all means, use it. When you're dealing with hyperbole or extremism metaphors and analogies work well. "He turned on the last leg of the race; all you could see was blur below his torso. He was a gazelle among sloths."
    – Andre Angelo
    Commented Mar 23, 2017 at 2:26
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    Your gazelle among sloths line made me laugh. Thank you!
    – ana ng
    Commented Mar 23, 2017 at 2:27
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"One day as I sat musing Alone and Melancholy and without a friend, There came a voice from out of the gloom, Saying, ‘Cheer up! Things might be worse.’"

While the verb muse itself has the meaning to think or meditate in silence as on some subject, the part "Alone and Melancholy and without a friend" (the adverbial phrases) seems redundant and can be omitted.

Adverbs in sentences like "He staggered toward the door unsteadily" or "He dashed out hastily" carry the meaning of the verbs they modify.

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