The document discusses weak verbs like "to get", "there are", and "it is" and provides alternatives that are more descriptive. It compares example sentences using these weak verbs to equivalent sentences with stronger verbs like "received", "inherited", and "will be". The document recommends avoiding the verb "to get" except in dialogue and limiting the use of expletive constructions with "there are/is/were" and "it is/was" to improve writing clarity and conciseness.

1. The Verb “To Get” &
“There Are” and “It Is”
Weak, Weak, Weak

2. Compare these
two sentences:
Sam got a
really nice
book for her
birthday.
Sam received a
first edition of
Moby Dick for
her birthday.

3. Compare these
two sentences:
Susan got
her great-
uncle’s car
when he
died.
Susan
inherited her
great-uncle’s
Shelby
Mustang when
he died.

4. Sal got sick
from eating
bad
shrimp.
Sal suffered
food
poisoning
from eating
spoiled
shrimp.
Compare these
two sentences:

5. “Got” is often used in speech; informal
To Get + Direct Object =
To Obtain, To Receive, To Buy
She got her passport.
I got a letter.
He gets $10,000 a year from his
grandmother.
They got a new television.
To Get + Place=
To Reach, Arrive at a Place
How are you getting home
tonight?
We got to London around 6:00
PM.
To Get + Adjective=
Become, show a change of
state
My grandparents are getting
forgetful.
I’m getting sleepy.
It gets dark early.
…and the verb is not all that descriptive

6. “There Are” and “It Is”
Just wordy---do you need to begin sentences with these words?

7. There are
three
textbooks
that I
need to
get.
I need to buy
three
textbooks.
Compare these
two sentences:

8. It is going
to be a
long
winter
this year.
Winter will
be long
this year.
Compare these
two sentences:

9. Expletive Constructions: Not grammatically
wrong but often unnecessary/wordy
• There are five boys who want to join the team.
• It is a rare thing to get a cab in this town after midnight.
• There was a lightening storm last night, and we lost electricity.
• It is unethical to sentence juvenile offenders to adult prisons.
Five boys want to join the team.
In this town, students can rarely find a cab after midnight.
We lost electricity during the lightening storm.
Sentencing juvenile offenders to adult prisons is unethical.

10. Guidelines
•Do not use the verb “to get” ---- unless you
are writing dialogue.
•Do not begin more than one or two or
maybe three sentences (at the most) with
“there are/is/were” and “it is/was”