Bull's Eye Business Writing Tips

Tip #325:  Don’t confuse linking verbs
with helping verbs.

These FREE weekly business writing tips
will help you improve your business writing.

I wanted to share a lovely e-mail I received from a client, AC Nielsen.

“Gloria, it has been just over a year since you did our training in St Pete Beach, and to this very day, I still hear that it was the best training ever!

Thanks again, and for all the good writing I have received from my team.

Hope you and your husband are well.”

Carol Anne Mc Guinn
ACNielsen

Tip #325:  Don’t confuse linking verbs with helping verbs.  Linking verbs are: “am,” ”was,” “were,” “have,” “been,” “has,” “had,” “seem,” etc. If they connect the subject to the predicate, they can cause you to convert the verb into a noun.  Therefore, making your sentences less forceful. 

For example: 

My job has benefits for its employees.
Better:  My job offers employee benefits.

Harriet was the CFO for ten years.
Better:  Harriet served five years as CFO.

Notice that the verbs “offers” and “served” are stronger than “has” and “was.”

Helping verbs are used with another verb such as “I am writing,” I have been teaching,” etc.

Weekly Exercise:

We receive over 200 emails per day.  We encourage you to answer our weekly tips, but please, if you are answering this weekly tip exercise,  identify the tip number in the subject line of your email.

This week’s quiz:

Revise the following sentences by removing the linking verbs:

  1. Teachers have a primary responsibility to the education of their students.
  2. My organization has benefits for its employees.
  3. My husband was a cost accountant for ten years.

“Happiness is a choice.”  (Barry Neil Kaufman)

To send the above exercise answers to Gloria for her comments and review,  copy the questions,  paste  them into an email, answer them,  and send to Marsha@basic-learning.com.

 

See this week's tip

You can always see the FREE Weekly Business Writing Tip.
But you must be on my mailing list to receive the answers! 

Please share these FREE tips with your friends.

For those who are first-timers, sign up by sending me an email.
 
Google Custom Search

These business writing tips brought to you by:
Bull's Eye Business Writing Bull's Eye Business Writing logo
10 Easy Guides for Getting to Your Writing Target
By Gloria Pincu, M.A. , President of Basic Learning Systems, Inc.
return to first page
Please feel free to share these tips with a friend
To find out more about us:

Order our books, CD-ROM and online courses today through our secure online store.

 
Here are some books on business writing that I recommend.

Bull's Eye Business Writing is also available from Amazon.com.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, author, Lynne Truss The Everything Resume Book by Steven Graber
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction , by William Knowlton Zinsser  The Gregg Reference Manual, by William A. Sabin 
The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, White, E. B. White  How to Take the Fog Out of Business Writing, by Robert Gunning, Richard A. Kallan (Contributor) 

More books on business writing and other business subjects  (available from Amazon.com). 

Contact Gloria Pincu at Basic Learning Systems, Inc.

Bull's Eye Business Writing banner