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Verbs Quotes

Browse 283 quotes about Verbs.

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Verbs Quotes

“Of an inanimate being, like a table, we say “What is it?” And we answer Dopwen yewe. Table it is. But of apple, we must say, “Who is that being?” And reply Mshimin yawe. Apple that being is. Yawe— the animate to be. I am, you are, s/he is. To speak of those possessed with life and spirit we must say yawe. By what linguistic confluence do Yahweh of the Old Testament and yawe of the New World both fall from the mouths of the reverent Isn’t this just what it means, to be, to have the breath of life within, to be the offspring of creation The language reminds us, in every sentence, of our kinship with all of the animate world.”

LifeRespectNative AmericanVerbsLinguisticsYahwehLanuguage
Book:Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
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“What’s especially irritating in grammars (have you noticed how exquisitely impossible it is for us to be talking about this?) – the most irritating part of grammars is the chapter on verbs, since these are what give meaning to sentences… An honest sentence should always have any number of possible meanings… Verbs!… A friend of mine who committed suicide – every time I have a longish conversation I suicide a friend – was going to dedicate his life to destroying verbs… - Why did he commit suicide? – Wait, I still don’t know… He wanted to discover and develop a method for surreptitiously not completing sentences. He used to say that he was searching for the microbe of meaning… He committed suicide – yes, of course – because one day he realized what a tremendous responsibility he’d assumed… The enormity of the problem made him go nuts…”

MeaningVerbs
Book:The Book of Disquiet: The Complete Edition
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“Growth of the soul is our goal, and there are many ways to encourage that growth, such as through love, nature, healing our wounds, forgiveness, and service. The soul grows well when giving and receiving love. I nourish my soul daily by loving others and being vulnerable to their love. Love is, after all, a verb, an action word, not a noun.”

WayGivingWellsSoulActionGrowsGoalGrowthLove IsHealingLove YouWoundsMy SoulVulnerableReceivingVerbsNounsGiving And ReceivingLoving OthersNature LoveReceiving Love
Author:Joan Z. Borysenko
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“Here is what I'm trying to tell you: Adult isn't a noun, it's a verb. It's the act of making correctly those small decisions that fill our day. It is one that you can practice, and that can be done in concrete steps. And if you slip up and have Diet Coke for breakfast, no one busts in and snatches away your Adult card. Just move forward and have milk tomorrow.”

IfsTryingDoneMovingDecisionStepsPracticeTomorrowAdultsMoving ForwardCardsDietsBreakfastMilkSlipsConcreteVerbsCokeNounsDiet CokeSmall Decisions
Author:Kelly Williams Brown
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“The verb 'to darn' is explained in my pocket dictionary as follows: 'To mend by imitating the texture of the stuff, with thread and needle.' But this definition does not correspond to the work accomplished by good Chinese housewives. When they mend a sock, they do not try 'to imitate the texture of the stuff'. Their art makes no attempt at concealment: it even takes a certain pride in revealing itself.”

TryingDoeArtCertainStuffPrideDefinitionsChineseAccomplishedPocketsThreadRevealingDictionaryTextureNeedlesSockVerbsHousewifeImitatingConcealment
Author:Daniele Vare
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“Perhaps one would be wise when young even to avoid thinking of oneself as a writer - for there's something a little stopped and satisfied, too healthy, in that. Better to think of writing, of what one does as an activity, rather than an identity - to write, I write; we write; to keep the calling a verb rather than a noun; to keep working at the thing, at all hours, in all places, so that your life does not become a pose, a pornography of wishing.”

ThinkingWritingLittlesDoeWould BeYoungWishHoursWiseIdentityCallingHealthyActivityOneselfSatisfiedPornographyBeing WiseVerbsNouns
Author:Lorrie Moore
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“Love is a verb, not a noun. It is active. Love is not just feelings of passion and romance. It is behavior. If a man lies to you, he is behaving badly and unlovingly toward you. He is disrespecting you and your relationship. The words “I love you” are not enough to make up for that. Don't kid yourself that they are.”

IfsMenEnoughFeelingsKidsRomanceLyingPassionLove IsLove YouBehaviorActiveOur RelationshipVerbsNounsLying MenBehaving Badly
Author:Susan Forward
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“Being accused of making money by selling sex in Hollywood, home of the casting couch and the gratuitous nude scene, is so rich with irony that it's a better subject for a comic novel than a column.... On one coast the cops are busting sex workers on Eighth Avenue, dragging them downtown to night court where they pay the fine and go right back to their corner; on another they're charging Heidi Fleiss with pandering in a town in which the verb is an art form.”

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Author:Anna Quindlen
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“The very natural tendency to use terms derived from traditional grammar like verb, noun, adjective, passive voice, in describing languages outside of Indo-European is fraught with grave possibilities of misunderstanding.”

UseLanguageVoiceTermNaturalPossibilityGravesTraditionalTendenciesPassiveMisunderstandingGrammarDescribingVerbsAdjectivesNounsPassive Voice
Book:Language, Thought, and Reality: Selected Writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf
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