“Never” rules are, in my opinion, always wrong. (Or, if you will, never right.)
When I was in my first year of journalism school, a senior student told me to “never lead with a quote.” I just couldn’t agree with him then, and I still disagree. Leading with a quote usually isn’t advisable, but there are times when a quote makes for a strong start to an article.
Another “never” rule that is often dispensed but still wrong is to never use the word very. Sometimes it can be just the right word, actually.
It is true, however, that the four-letter intensifier is used all too often by inexperienced writers trying to add emphasis: “Jenny is a very smart child.” “The bear was very large.” “Professor Proton was a very big influence on young Sheldon.”
The problem with very is that it is so overused that it has no impact. When readers see it in every other paragraph, the word becomes meaningless to them.
There are three basic approaches to cutting very from your writing: replacing it with another intensifier, replacing very and the adjective that follows with a single word, and simply deleting it.
In place of very, you could write abundantly, amply, mightily, or profoundly, depending on the adjective you’re modifying. There is, in fact, a multitude of words that can be used instead.
You could say Jenny is an exceptionally smart child. You might write that the bear was extraordinarily large. You could say Professor Proton was a particularly big influence.
Here are some other words to consider: decidedly, deeply, enormously, exceedingly, extremely, highly, quite, rather, seriously, and vastly. Which word to use when will depend on context and intended meaning. Consult an online or paper thesaurus for more.
Instead of writing “very [adjective],” consider replacing that phrase with one word of equivalent meaning:
♦ Jenny is a precocious child.
♦ The bear was enormous.
♦ Professor Proton was a tremendous influence.
GrammarCheck and other websites have lists of such words – exact for “very accurate,” and filthy for “very dirty,” to cite just two examples. A suitable adjective may be just two clicks away.
Often you could just dispense with the four-letter word and write, for example, “Jenny was a smart child.” After all, very doesn’t add much in many cases. Mark Twain supposedly had this advice for writers: “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”
It should be noted, though, that Twain used the little word himself many times. I don’t think he was making a “never” rule.