--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you go through any newspaper or…" description: "\"If you go through any newspaper or magazine and look for active, kicking verbs in the sentences, you will realize that this lack of well used verbs is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/rudolf-flesch-45044_active_if-you-go-through-any-newspaper-or-magaz_1910393.jpg" --- # If you go through any newspaper or magazine and look for… ![“If you go through any newspaper or magazine and look for active, kicking verbs in the sentences, you will realize that this lack of well used verbs is the main trouble with modern English writing. Almost all nonfiction nowadays is written in a sort of pale, colorless sauce of passives and…” quote by Rudolf Flesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/rudolf-flesch-45044_active_if-you-go-through-any-newspaper-or-magaz_1910393.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/rudolf-flesch-45044_active_if-you-go-through-any-newspaper-or-magaz_1910393.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/rudolf-flesch-45044_active_if-you-go-through-any-newspaper-or-magaz_1910393.jpg) > “If you go through any newspaper or magazine and look for active, kicking verbs in the sentences, you will realize that this lack of well used verbs is the main trouble with modern English writing. Almost all nonfiction nowadays is written in a sort of pale, colorless sauce of passives and infinitives, motionless and flat as paper.” [Rudolf Flesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-flesch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern nonfiction often relies on passive constructions, making prose dull and lifeless. **In simple terms:** Passive language makes writing flat. Key Takeaway Use active verbs for vivid prose. Themes clarity style writing grammar readability Mood critical analytical Type instructional observational When to use this quote - editing reports - academic papers - marketing copy - blog posts - novel drafts Key Concepts active voice verb choice syntactic economy Questions to Reflect On - How does passive voice affect reader engagement? - When is passive voice appropriate? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on activity can sacrifice nuance or tone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [English writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-writing/) [Modern english](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-english/) [Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspapers/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-nonfiction/) ## Related quotes > [I think I am less self-assured when I write English than I would be if I were writing in my first language. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-penkov/in-bulgarian-i-am-much-more-flowery-the-sentences-are-wilder-in/) [Miroslav Penkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-penkov/) > [“I had not particularly liked the way in which he wrote about literature in Beginnings , and I was always on my guard if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-had-not-particularly-liked-the-way-in-which-he-wrote-about/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Actually, my first group was a folkloric group, an Argentine folkloric group when I was 10. By the time I was 11 or 12…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-santaolalla/actually-my-first-group-was-a-folkloric-group-an-argentine-folkloric/) Gustavo Santaolalla > [English writing tends to fall into two categories - the big, baggy epic novel or the fairly controlled, tidy novel. For a long time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/english-writing-tends-to-fall-into-two-categories-the-big-baggy-epic/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [All the youth now in England of free men, who are rich enough to be able to devote themselves to it, be set to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/all-the-youth-now-in-england-of-free-men-who-are-rich-enough-to-be/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [“the best of luck in improving their English writing skills. However, in saying that, it's not up to luck so much as dedication, hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-e-dew/the-best-of-luck-in-improving-their-english-writing-skills-however-in/) Stephen E. Dew > [The only thing better than good English writing is - I can't think of anything. You just don't pour it pureed over your potatoes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-murchison/the-only-thing-better-than-good-english-writing-is-i-can-t-think-of/) [William Murchison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-murchison/) > [“There are two main traditions of English writing: the one of perfect liberty, that of Chaucer and Shakespeare, completely outspoken, with a certain liking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-harris/there-are-two-main-traditions-of-english-writing-the-one-of-perfect/) [Frank Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-harris/) > [The best models of English writing are Shakespeare and the Old Testament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/the-best-models-of-english-writing-are-shakespeare-and-the-old/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [Writing nonfiction of various kinds has been instructive and entertaining as well as paying the rent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/writing-nonfiction-of-various-kinds-has-been-instructive-and/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [I started writing nonfiction because nonfiction is well-suited to subjects that, if you wrote them as fiction, people would say, "I don't believe this.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-monroe/i-started-writing-nonfiction-because-nonfiction-is-well-suited-to/) [Debra Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-monroe/) ## More by Rudolf Flesch > [“What are we after when we open one of those books? What is it that makes a classic a classic? ... in old-fashioned terms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-flesch/what-are-we-after-when-we-open-one-of-those-books-what-is-it-that/) [Rudolf Flesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-flesch/) > [You can't build a vocabulary without reading. You can't meet friends if you ... stay at home by yourself all the time. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-flesch/you-can-t-build-a-vocabulary-without-reading-you-can-t-meet-friends/) [Rudolf Flesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-flesch/) > [I say, don't read the classics - try to discover your own classics; every life has its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-flesch/i-say-don-t-read-the-classics-try-to-discover-your-own-classics-every/) [Rudolf Flesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-flesch/) > [Abstract ideas are the patterns two or more memories have in common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-flesch/abstract-ideas-are-the-patterns-two-or-more-memories-have-in-common/) [Rudolf Flesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-flesch/) > [A writer must know how people read, what are the main sources of reading errors, and what can be done to possibly forestall them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-flesch/a-writer-must-know-how-people-read-what-are-the-main-sources-of/) [Rudolf Flesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-flesch/) > [Creative thinking may mean simply the realization that there's no particular virtue in doing things the way they always have been done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-flesch/creative-thinking-may-mean-simply-the-realization-that-there-s-no/) [Rudolf Flesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-flesch/) > [Say what you have to say, and then stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-flesch/say-what-you-have-to-say-and-then-stop/) [Rudolf Flesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-flesch/) > [Creative thinking may mean simply the realization that there's no particular virtue in doing things the way they have always been done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-flesch/creative-thinking-may-mean-simply-the-realization-that-there-s-no-2/) [Rudolf Flesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-flesch/) [Explore all 9 Rudolf Flesch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-flesch/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. 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Because essentially they were a three-piece band and the way he structured his chords and took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/pete-townsend-for-me-was-a-huge-influence-because-essentially-they/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Few, if any, creatures are equally active all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/few-if-any-creatures-are-equally-active-all-night/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You need to enjoy yourself and just get into the routine of keeping fit and enjoying being active. That's always easier once you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-brownlee/you-need-to-enjoy-yourself-and-just-get-into-the-routine-of-keeping/) [Alistair Brownlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-brownlee/) Browse all 2,212 Active quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you go through any newspaper or magazine and look for active, kicking verbs in the sentences, you will realize that this lack of well used verbs is the main trouble with modern English writing. 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