A few days ago
Anonymous

Is it true that adverbs weakens prose?

That’s what I’ve been told, that if you sure adverbs all the time, it weakens prose. Is that true?

“How are you doing?” he said cautiously.

“Fine,” she said spitefully.

“How are you doing?” he said.

“Fine,” she said.

“How are you doing?” he said.

“Fine,” she said as if cursing.

Top 2 Answers
A few days ago
Anonymous

Favorite Answer

Your 3rd example it best. Adverbs, enrichen the prose. Over use as with most tools of writing becomes tedious to read. With one word an entire mood can be set. It’s very efficient to use in that sense.
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A few days ago
Anonymous
Adverbs do not weaken prose if you use them descriptively. Adverbs simply describe verbs, make a verb more understood. -ly always comes before the verb, and others come after the verb. There are exceptions, so I would consult a handbook.
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