I return with a minor post after another long break. This time, it’s about writing better English. Now, this isn’t humblebragging but I cannot be considered excellent at English writing – at least not by native standards. English is not my first language and I haven’t had much formal English education. I have, however, read a lot. Even if my English is not good, I can still point out some tips shared by experts.
Here’s the first one of those shared by Amanda Patterson on Writers Write. It’s a list of 45 words you can use to put emphasis on words without using the word “very”. I found it refreshingly helpful.
Bear in mind though that you cannot just go ahead and use a word without looking up its usage examples. Some words might have negative connotations even though the dictionary meanings look positive. For example, if you use the word ‘adequate’ to describe someone’s work, they might be offended even though the dictionary meaning is that of acceptable quality.
p.s. After writing this, I searched for the word “very” and found two instances where I had used the word myself. I replaced it with better alternatives.