Lesson 23: VERB

Practice 1: Multiple Choice

Choose the word that best completes each sentence.

1. The court reporter transcribed the entire trial __________, capturing every word exactly as spoken.

a) verbally
b) verbosely
c) verbatim
d) reverberantly

2. Her essay was rejected for excessive __________; the editor wanted tighter, cleaner prose.

a) verbiage
b) proverb
c) adverb
d) verb

3. The ancient __________ "measure twice, cut once" still applies to modern carpentry.

a) adverb
b) verb
c) proverb
d) verbiage

4. Body language, eye contact, and facial expressions are all forms of __________ communication.

a) verbal
b) verbose
c) nonverbal
d) verbatim

5. She had trouble __________ her feelings, so her therapist used drawing exercises instead.

a) verbalizing
b) reversing
c) abusing
d) provoking

6. The speaker was so __________ that a fifteen-minute presentation stretched to an hour.

a) verbatim
b) verbal
c) verbose
d) nonverbal

7. In the sentence "She runs quickly," the word "quickly" functions as an __________.

a) adjective
b) proverb
c) verb
d) adverb

8. We made only a __________ agreement—nothing was put in writing.

a) verbose
b) verbal
c) verbatim
d) nonverbal

9. The concert hall's natural __________ made the unplugged performance sound rich and full.

a) verbosity
b) reverb
c) verbiage
d) verb

10. The __________ of the contract was so complex that we needed a lawyer to interpret it.

a) verbiage
b) adverb
c) proverb
d) reverb

11. His __________ was legendary—he could turn any simple idea into a twenty-page memo.

a) verbatim
b) verbosity
c) proverb
d) adverb

12. Action words like "analyze," "synthesize," and "evaluate" are all examples of __________.

a) adverbs
b) proverbs
c) verbs
d) nonverbals

Practice 2: Fill in the Blank

Use each word from the word bank exactly once.

Word Bank: verbal, verbose, verbatim, proverb, adverb, verbiage, verbalize, reverb, nonverbal, verb, verbosity, verbs

1. "Actions speak louder than words" is a well-known __________.

2. The journalist quoted the politician __________ to avoid any accusations of misrepresentation.

3. Her __________ communication—crossed arms and averted eyes—told me she was uncomfortable.

4. The legal document's dense __________ made it nearly impossible to understand.

5. Many writing coaches recommend cutting adverbs and letting strong __________ carry the meaning.

6. The professor's __________ made his lectures difficult to follow; he never used one word when ten would do.

7. I appreciate people who can __________ their thoughts clearly and concisely.

8. The recording engineer added __________ to the vocals to give them more depth.

9. In the phrase "extremely difficult," the word "extremely" is an __________.

10. We had a __________ agreement, but I wish we had gotten it in writing.

11. The word "is" in "She is happy" functions as a __________ expressing a state of being.

12. His writing style is too __________; he needs to learn to edit ruthlessly.

Practice 3: Reading Passage

Dr. Marcus Chen was known for two things: his brilliant research and his legendary verbosity. Faculty meetings that should have taken thirty minutes stretched to three hours when Marcus had the floor. His verbose explanations, while thorough, tested everyone's patience.

"Marcus," his colleague once said, "there's a proverb: 'Brevity is the soul of wit.' Perhaps consider it."

Marcus struggled to verbalize a response. He knew his colleagues found his verbiage excessive, but he believed precision required words—many words. The irony was that his written work was actually quite tight. It was verbal communication where he lost control.

His graduate students learned to read his nonverbal cues: when he stroked his chin, a lengthy tangent was coming. They developed a secret signal, tapping their pens, to remind him to wrap up.

One day, a new student recorded Marcus's lecture verbatim. The transcript ran forty-seven pages for a supposed fifty-minute class. "Professor," she said gently, "maybe we could identify the key verbs—the action words—and build outward from there? Let the adverbs follow naturally rather than piling on?"

Marcus laughed. It was the first concise thing he'd done all year.

Questions

1. What does "verbosity" mean in this passage?

a) Speaking clearly and precisely
b) Using too many words; excessive wordiness
c) Refusing to speak
d) Speaking in proverbs

2. Why does the colleague quote the proverb "Brevity is the soul of wit"?

a) To praise Marcus's intelligence
b) To suggest Marcus should be more concise
c) To demonstrate knowledge of Shakespeare
d) To add verbiage to the conversation

3. What does "verbatim" mean when the student records the lecture?

a) Summarized
b) Edited for clarity
c) Word for word, exactly as spoken
d) Translated into writing

4. The students read Marcus's "nonverbal cues." This means they:

a) Listen to his words carefully
b) Watch his body language for signals
c) Record his lectures verbatim
d) Quote proverbs back to him

5. What is the student's suggestion for Marcus's teaching?

a) Use more adverbs
b) Add more verbiage for precision
c) Start with key action words and build from there
d) Speak more loudly