Connie's Corner

Qualifiers...

According to the Free Dictionary online, a qualifier is a word or phrase that qualifies, limits, or modifies the meaning of another word or phrase.

Not surprisingly, I find I write with many (snicker here) qualifiers. I cannot seem (snicker again) to help it. How does one write without qualifiers? Somewhat, very, really, most, sometimes, appears, seems, suggests, indicates, may, might, could, many, most, some, few, often, sometimes...the list goes on and on. Qualifiers make us sound unsure or worse, ill-informed. All these words are overused and mean nothing. We use them to avoid criticism or disagreement. Do I dare to change my qualifiers to absolutes? Absolutes like will, all, every, none, always, never, certainly. My absolute list is shorter. Using absolutes means more research and more writing confidence. In other words, using a bunch of qualifiers is lazy writing.

Then there is the problem of using an absolute word with a qualifier such as very unique or more perfect. Yes, guilty as charged.

Even worse, I read somewhere else that using a lot of qualifiers in my writing carries over from the way I speak. How to change a lifetime of a habit, that is the big question.

until next time...c