Choose active verbs to energize every sentence

Verbs are the engines that drive every sentence. When you say “The report was written by Carlos,” you hide Carlos behind clunky grammar. By flipping it to “Carlos wrote the report,” you put him front and center, charging that moment with direct energy. This small shift transforms a murky statement into a vivid action. Likewise, watch for those clinging adverbs—“quickly,” “carefully,” “painfully”—that prowl around half-hearted verbs. When you turn “ran quickly” into “sprinted,” you don’t need “quickly” anymore: the strong verb does all the work. Over time, these active-voice stubs and leaner verb choices accumulate, giving your prose a clean, high-octane feel. Think of each sentence as a small motor; choose your fuel wisely and the ride stays smooth and fast.

Find each passive phrase in your draft by spotting “was” or “were” plus a past-tense verb and tag them. Then rewrite by making the doer the sentence topic—turn “The code was reviewed by me” into “I reviewed the code”—and watch your text jump to life. Finally, hunt down leftover adverbs and remove them if your new verb already packs the meaning you need. Give it a go in your next edit to notice how brisk and clear your prose becomes.