People use, you know, filler words when they talk all the time. It’s something we um, accept as part of like, natural speech. Did you notice the you know, um, and like? These words don’t have any redeeming value whatsoever. Writing has filler words too. Just, really, and very are a few examples. Generally speaking if you cut these words out, they will not affect the meaning of your sentence. As always, there are some exceptions.
Amplifiers
I can almost hear you disagreeing with me about very. Let’s look at an example. You might write: the very small dog barked as loud as a foghorn. Obviously you want to convey that the dog was
smaller than small. Try this: the tiny dog barked . . . . Or you could write: the teensy-weensy dog . . . . Let’s say you want to show the dog is extremely small: the microscopic dog . . . . In other words, instead of using very to emphasize the dog’s size, pick a more descriptive word—tiny, teensy-weensy, microscopic. The same applies to really. Something that makes you really mad infuriates you. Something really big is ginormous.
Just
Just is a little different. It has multiple meanings. Sometimes it means only as in there’s just one more or it’s just me. Other times its meaning is time sensitive. For instance: I just found out. Often it’s a verbal tic. What do I mean? Let me give a few examples:
It’s just about time to . . .
I was just going to . . .
She just doesn’t understand.
In each of these cases you can remove the word just without changing the meaning of the sentence. Although it is a common word in conversation, it’s usually considered unnecessary in writing.
Removing filler words can strengthen your writing by making every word count.
