--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know what would help the instruction…" description: "\"You know what would help the instruction form? Verbs! Verbs would be nice! Because they help you get to the end of a thought!\" — Lewis Black" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/lewis-black-1143_being-nice_you-know-what-would-help-the-instruction_2724543.png" --- # You know what would help the instruction form? Verbs!… ![“You know what would help the instruction form? Verbs! Verbs would be nice! Because they help you get to the end of a thought!” quote by Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/lewis-black-1143_being-nice_you-know-what-would-help-the-instruction_2724543.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/lewis-black-1143_being-nice_you-know-what-would-help-the-instruction_2724543.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/lewis-black-1143_being-nice_you-know-what-would-help-the-instruction_2724543.png) > “You know what would help the instruction form? Verbs! Verbs would be nice! Because they help you get to the end of a thought!” [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Using verbs in instruction improves clarity and helps guide thoughts to completion. **In simple terms:** Verbs make instructions clear and actionable Key Takeaway Incorporate strong verbs in teaching Themes education communication clarity Mood practical direct Type educational functional When to use this quote - teaching - writing - public speaking Key Concepts verb usage instructional design thought flow Questions to Reflect On - How can verbs be balanced with nuance? - When are verbs insufficient for instruction? A Different Perspective Overreliance on verbs may oversimplify complex ideas ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-nice/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > [Nice writing isn't enough. It isn't enough to have smooth and pretty language. You have to surprise the reader frequently, you can't just be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bernays/nice-writing-isn-t-enough-it-isn-t-enough-to-have-smooth-and-pretty/) [Anne Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bernays/) > [Stronger together is, I think, a preposition and a comparative adjective, but it's not really an action verb or what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/stronger-together-is-i-think-a-preposition-and-a-comparative/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [Someone has written, Love is a verb. It requires doing -not just saying and thinking. The test is in what one does, how one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-haight/someone-has-written-love-is-a-verb-it-requires-doing-not-just-saying/) [David B. Haight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-haight/) > [Whatever you want to say, there is only one word to express it, only one verb to give it movement, only one adjective to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/whatever-you-want-to-say-there-is-only-one-word-to-express-it-only/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [But what is memory if not the language of feeling, a dictionary of faces and days and smells which repeat themselves like the verbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/but-what-is-memory-if-not-the-language-of-feeling-a-dictionary-of/) [Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [In the history of the concept of number has been adjective (three cows, three monads) and noun (three, pure and simple), and now ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mazur/in-the-history-of-the-concept-of-number-has-been-adjective-three-cows/) [Barry Mazur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mazur/) > [“Nouns, verbs do not exist for what I feel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berryman/nouns-verbs-do-not-exist-for-what-i-feel/) [John Berryman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berryman/) > [“Love is a word that is constantly heard, Hate is a word that is not. Love, I am told, is more precious that gold.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/love-is-a-word-that-is-constantly-heard-hate-is-a-word-that-is-not/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I just love learning. I think learning is how you live. The verb of my life is learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/i-just-love-learning-i-think-learning-is-how-you-live-the-verb-of-my/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [The verb that's been enforced on girls is to please. Girls are trained to please...I want us all to change the verb. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-verb-that-s-been-enforced-on-girls-is-to-please-girls-are-trained/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/the-line-of-dialogue-belongs-to-the-character-the-verb-is-the-writer/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [A sentence can offer a moment of quiet, it can crackle with energy or it can just lie there, listless and uninteresting. What makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/a-sentence-can-offer-a-moment-of-quiet-it-can-crackle-with-energy-or/) [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) > [“But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every words that serves no function, every long word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/but-the-secret-of-good-writing-is-to-strip-every-sentence-to-its/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Natural history is not taught in seminary. This is curious, as most people in pastoral ministry are about 567 times more likely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/natural-history-is-not-taught-in-seminary-this-is-curious-as-most/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [Verbs allow you to communicate a story in a much more converged or involuntary way for a reader. The verbs allow you to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/verbs-allow-you-to-communicate-a-story-in-a-much-more-converged-or/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More by Lewis Black > [I think one reason people play golf is it allows them to obsess about something other than the daily crap. It takes your mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/i-think-one-reason-people-play-golf-is-it-allows-them-to-obsess-about/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [If you're going to vote for somebody because you think they have a great faith in God, you'd better be sure that God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/if-you-re-going-to-vote-for-somebody-because-you-think-they-have-a/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [I think that I don't panic as much as the folks on the left or the right do. I don't have that sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/i-think-that-i-don-t-panic-as-much-as-the-folks-on-the-left-or-the/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [“I don't know if you've noticed, but our two-party system is a bowl of shit looking at itself in the mirror.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/i-don-t-know-if-you-ve-noticed-but-our-two-party-system-is-a-bowl-of/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [These ballot initiatives against same sex marriage remind us that America is the land where people are free to dream whatever they want, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/these-ballot-initiatives-against-same-sex-marriage-remind-us-that/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [If you're going to pick a book and you want to base a system of government around it, why not 'Harry Potter?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/if-you-re-going-to-pick-a-book-and-you-want-to-base-a-system-of/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [No matter what, your parents are going to worry about you. I had a tour bus, and my mother still thought I was broke.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/no-matter-what-your-parents-are-going-to-worry-about-you-i-had-a-tour/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [I'm always amazed when I hear people saying, "That George Bush, he's a great leader". And I wonder, where can one find a drug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/i-m-always-amazed-when-i-hear-people-saying-that-george-bush-he-s-a/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [I knew that I'd lived in New York too long when, a few years ago, I was on a subway going downtown, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/i-knew-that-i-d-lived-in-new-york-too-long-when-a-few-years-ago-i-was/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [If you're seeing a psychiatrist, you're wasting money because all you've got to do is get on a plane, get on a subway tomorrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/if-you-re-seeing-a-psychiatrist-you-re-wasting-money-because-all-you/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [Well first of all, I'd just like to say that 2005 was a great year, if you like swimming through crap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/well-first-of-all-i-d-just-like-to-say-that-2005-was-a-great-year-if/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [I'd like the campaigning to be about all the things they're not going to do. Just tell me what you're not going do! Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/i-d-like-the-campaigning-to-be-about-all-the-things-they-re-not-going/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [All food is comfort food. Maybe I just like to chew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/all-food-is-comfort-food-maybe-i-just-like-to-chew/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [Johnny Vassilaros is the man who has created the finest cup of coffee ever served in the city of New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/johnny-vassilaros-is-the-man-who-has-created-the-finest-cup-of-coffee/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [“At seven p.m., hope is sparked again when some new chirpy airline employee announces that a new plane without that nasty mechanical problem -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/at-seven-p-m-hope-is-sparked-again-when-some-new-chirpy-airline/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) [Explore all 283 Lewis Black quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) ## More Being nice quotes > [Business school graduates from the best schools earn large salaries and frequently rise to positions of great power. It would be nice if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/business-school-graduates-from-the-best-schools-earn-large-salaries/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [I think there's a lot of scope in broadening the way videogames approach depictions of masculinity, which is still extremely narrow in scope. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-druckmann/i-think-there-s-a-lot-of-scope-in-broadening-the-way-videogames/) Neil Druckmann > [He put his arms around her. “Well, in my defense, then, whatever I did seemed to work, didn't it?” She sighed. “I suppose.” “You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/he-put-his-arms-around-her-well-in-my-defense-then-whatever-i-did/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Somewhere where people aren't so mad would be nice, but I don't know if there is anywhere like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-smith/somewhere-where-people-aren-t-so-mad-would-be-nice-but-i-don-t-know/) [Elliott Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-smith/) > [Most of the people I know who were raised to be accommodating or were raised to just be nice and put everybody's needs ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/most-of-the-people-i-know-who-were-raised-to-be-accommodating-or-were/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Being nice from now on, leaving the old BS where it's at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-from-now-on-leaving-the-old-bs-where-it-s-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I think music is better listened to with other people. Music is better shared. It depends what situation you're in - if it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-odell/i-think-music-is-better-listened-to-with-other-people-music-is-better/) [Tom Odell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-odell/) > [Everybody wants to be good, but not many are prepared to make the sacrifices it takes to be great. To many people, being nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-arden/everybody-wants-to-be-good-but-not-many-are-prepared-to-make-the-2/) [Paul Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-arden/) > [Give me a mirror.Or holy water. I'll drink it,even!" I gasped as someone threw water on the side of my face. "A little warning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/give-me-a-mirror-or-holy-water-i-ll-drink-it-even-i-gasped-as-someone/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [What inspired me as a child is the same thing that inspires me now: being nice. I always try to one up everybody with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joell-ortiz/what-inspired-me-as-a-child-is-the-same-thing-that-inspires-me-now/) [Joell Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joell-ortiz/) > [My ex-wife was trying to be nice once, so she took me to a concert in Los Angeles. I went with her to Symphony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-b-king/my-ex-wife-was-trying-to-be-nice-once-so-she-took-me-to-a-concert-in/) [B. B. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-b-king/) [Browse all 659 Being nice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-nice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You know what would help the instruction form? Verbs! Verbs would be nice! Because they help you get to the end of a thought!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lewis Black" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/you-know-what-would-help-the-instruction-form-verbs-verbs-would-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being nice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/you-know-what-would-help-the-instruction-form-verbs-verbs-would-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/lewis-black-1143_being-nice_you-know-what-would-help-the-instruction_2724543.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/lewis-black-1143_being-nice_you-know-what-would-help-the-instruction_2724543.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/lewis-black-1143_being-nice_you-know-what-would-help-the-instruction_2724543.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You know what would help the instruction form? Verbs! Verbs would be nice! Because they help you get to the…” — Lewis Black", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lewis Black", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You know what would help the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/you-know-what-would-help-the-instruction-form-verbs-verbs-would-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/you-know-what-would-help-the-instruction-form-verbs-verbs-would-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```