Page 889 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

Math intimidates many students.

Two puppies were playing and tumbling in the front yard.

Two puppies played and tumbled in the front yard.

Some sentences do not lend themselves to revision through removal
of the verb to be. If that is the case, don’t force it.

Anne told us that her brother was a police detective.

Anne told us that her brother detected . . . no.

Anne told us that her brother fought crime . . . no.

Anne told us that her brother worked as a police detective.

This change is acceptable, but not appreciably better than the
sentence with was.

Practice 22-1 Replacing the

Verb to be

Rewrite the following sentences, replacing a form of the verb to be

with a lively, well-chosen verb.