English Grammar Demystified - A Self Teaching Guide

188 English Grammar Demystifi ed

Writing Clearer Sentences

Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can.

That is the only secret of style.

—Matthew Arnold

This quotation from the mid-nineteenth-century English poet and critic states the
main idea of this chapter very well. You may write sentences that are correct; yet
they may still lack style and clarity. Once you have the mechanics of English under
control (e.g., the punctuation, spelling, and grammar rules you’ve learned), you
need to concern yourself with clarity. That means making your writing accessible
to the reader—unambiguous and impossible to be misread.
What common pitfalls block style and clarity? Look at the upcoming list in the
next section, and get ready to learn how you can avoid the pitfalls.

Using Active Verbs

Too many passive (nonactive) verbs defi nitely block clarity. Passive verbs always
contain a form of to be such as is, was, were,and been. For example:

Muddled: A survey was taken of all board members by the governance

committee.

In the preceding sentence, the nonactive or passive verb was buries the subject,
governance committee. Why not start the sentence with the subject, the governance
committee, and follow that with the active verb took? The passive verb was is a form
of to be—delete it. What did they take? They took a survey (object).

Clearer: The governance committee took a survey of all board members.

Even clearer: The governance committee surveyed all the board members.

Let’s look at another example:

Muddled: A free book program is offered by the bookstore.

Why not give credit where it is due? Find the buried subject. Who offers the pro-
gram? The bookstore. What is the action form of the verb? Offers. Notice the pas-