Multiple Verbitis

 

By Denise Loock

 

Verbs create action and purpose in a sentence. As Patricia O’Conner observed in Woe Is I, without verbs, the other words in a sentence would be “standing around with their hands in their pockets.”[1] But too many verbs in a sentence create confusion. When a writer uses many verbs in several forms to do the job of one verb, I call that manuscript riddled with disease ... multiple verbitis disease.

 

Sometimes this ailment is contracted because of the author’s desire to sound scholarly, but often it’s the result of carelessness. Don’t despair. All writers and speakers contract multiple verbitis at some point, even the renowned statesman, Winston Churchill. He once quipped, “My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me.”[2] The sentence contains four verb forms. He could have said, “My most brilliant achievement was persuading my wife to marry me” (two verb forms).

 

Public announcements are rife with multiple verbitis: School officials will cause an investigation to be made with a view to ascertaining the identity of the thief. Three verb forms. Only one was necessary: School officials will investigate the robbery.

 

As Churchill’s statement illustrates, certain verb phrases are obvious symptoms of multiple verbitis. Avoid to be able, will plan to come, wanted to see, make a decision, began to feel, put into focus, came to realize, got to know, seemed to have been. Replace them with one strong verb if possible.

 

Poor: I may be able to attend the party, but I can’t plan to come at this time.

Better: I’ll check my calendar, then confirm my availability for the party.

 

Poor: Sally liked and was interested in the couch, but she didn’t want to have to make a decision about purchasing it yet.

Better: Sally liked the couch but didn’t purchase it that day.

 

Poor: Tom began to feel as though his coworker didn’t like him, then came to realize the man in the next cubicle was just shy.  

Better: Tom assumed his coworker didn’t like him, then realized the man in the next cubicle was shy.

 

And while we’re discussing verbs, beware of attaching unnecessary prepositions to them: start up, stand up, sit down, miss out on, rise up, descend down, pay off, try out, speak up, meet up (Notice the overworked up in these phrases).

 

To protect your manuscript from this disease, be vigilant about verb usage. Read at least 500 words of your manuscript. Circle every verb or verb form in each sentence. Can you eliminate any of them? To improve your use of strong verbs, look for the vivid action verbs in online articles and books. Study the word order in the sentences. What makes those strong verbs effective?

 

Multiple verbitis is curable. If you eliminate unnecessary verbs, your manuscript will be healthier and your readers happier. And as Churchill might have said, “Never, never, never give up” on honing your writing skills.

[1] O’ Conner, Patricia T. Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1996), 19.

 

[2] “Winston Churchill: Top Twelve Quotes,” Historic UK, accessed Dec. 24, 2025, https://www.historic-uk.com/Blog/Winston-Churchill-Top-12-Quotes/.

Photo courtesy Unsplash.com and Bret Jordan.

Denise Loock is the owner of Lightning Editing Services. As a freelance editor, she helps published and unpublished writers create clean, concise, and compelling manuscripts that will attract publishers and intrigue readers. She teaches Editing Devotionals 101 and Sentence Diagramming 101 for The PEN Institute and is the former director of PENCON, the only annual conference for Christian proofreaders and editors.