is

The verb 'is' (and all forms of 'to be': am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) acts as a linking verb. Overuse of 'to be' verbs is often a signal of telling rather than showing: and frequently a signal of passive voice. The 'to be' verb performs one of five functions in a sentence: 1. Exists : "Her favorite dessert is strawberry pie." 2. Happens : "They are fond of strawberry pie." 3. Locates : "He was at the party." 4. Identifies : "Those children were appreciative." 5. Describes : "He is being very nice." The fix: replace the 'to be' verb with an action verb that captures what's actually happening. ✗ "Steve's favorite dessert is strawberry pie." ✓ "Steve loves strawberry pie." ✗ "He is walking on the sidewalk." ✓ "He walks on the sidewalk." ✗ "He is a teacher." ✓ "He teaches history." ✗ "My term paper is about the Civil War." ✓ "My term paper discusses the Civil War." When 'is' (or 'was') IS doing useful work: - State of being that genuinely matters: "She was tired." - Identity statements that ARE the point: "He was my father." - Existence declarations: "There was a knock at the door." Treat every 'to be' as a candidate for action. Sometimes it stays. Often it hides a stronger sentence underneath.