Don’t: Rely on meaningless light verbs

Light verbs (also called empty verbs) are verbs that derive their meaning from other words, usually the noun that serves as the direct object.¹ Though light verbs can carry meaning by themselves, when used as part of a larger phrase, they lose that meaning. For example, the verb “to make” normally means “to create” or “to force” but loses all meaning in phrases like “make a decision,” “make a difference,” “make a living,” and “make fun of.”

As a general rule, meaningless words equal uninteresting writing. Light verbs are a great way to increase your word count without adding any content.² If overused, they can also cause your writing to sound redundant because the same handful of verbs tend to function as light verbs. Although you should not try to eliminate them completely at the expense of sounding natural, replacing as many as possible with meaningful verbs can help bring stale writing to life.