Evaluate the sentences below for this question:
1) There were several bugs on my windshield this morning because there was a lot of wind yesterday.
2) The wind yesterday flung a lot of bugs on my windshield.
A) Sentence 2 is clearer because it has a higher verb/word ratio.
B) Sentence 1 is clearer because it has a clear subject (wind) and verb (flung).
C) Sentence 2 is clearer because it uses a lot of "is/are" verbs.
D) Sentence 1 is less clear because it excludes relevant information, such as the time of the day the bugs were found on the windshield.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Sentences that use different tenses of the verb, "be," such as, "is/are," reduces the clarity of who the subject is in the sentence. When a sentence lacks a clear subject/agent doing the action (verb), writers can often drift into the phrases "there is," "there are," "there was," and "there were," which have no meaning and deter conciseness and directness.

Evaluate the Sentences Below for This Question