“Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs. The adjective hasn't been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place.” William Strunk
I always enjoy alienating my friends, so I think I'll argue this point.
I'm not crazy about "not" rules for writing. Writers should do what works. But this one in particular bothers me, possibly because of a B that I got on a writing assignment in grad school. (The prof's comment: "Your frequent use of adverbs reduces the gravity of your presentation." My muttered response contained a verb, an adverb and a pronoun.)
But consider this old chestnut:
Red sky at night: sailor's delight.
Red sky at morning: sailor take warning.
Take the adjective away and it's not ungrammatical; it just doesn't have any point.
The point of this is pretty much a different slant on Twain's "lightning vs lightning bug". Personally i find Twain to have the most sensible advice on writing (and many other things) of anyone.
no subject
I'm not crazy about "not" rules for writing. Writers should do what works. But this one in particular bothers me, possibly because of a B that I got on a writing assignment in grad school. (The prof's comment: "Your frequent use of adverbs reduces the gravity of your presentation." My muttered response contained a verb, an adverb and a pronoun.)
But consider this old chestnut:
Red sky at night:
sailor's delight.
Red sky at morning:
sailor take warning.
Take the adjective away and it's not ungrammatical; it just doesn't have any point.
no subject
The point of this is pretty much a different slant on Twain's "lightning vs lightning bug". Personally i find Twain to have the most sensible advice on writing (and many other things) of anyone.
no subject