Comments on: Why Yoda Was Right

By: A Long Time Ago In a Galaxy Far, Far Away — Freelance Writing Jobs | A Freelance Writing Community and Freelance Writing Jobs Resource

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:22:23 +0000

[...] of you may recognize the title of this post as the opening line of Star Wars, but have you ever thought about the grammatical accuracy of the “double use” of the [...]

By: Dawn Allcot

Dawn Allcot — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:48:14 +0000

ENM: Thanks for commenting–glad it helped. What’s your avatar mean? It caught my eye.

Phil: That’s awesome! If you have preschoolers/toddlers, I know try is used constantly on children’s TV. there’s a song on Nick Jr., “try, try, try, try to tell me what you’re feeling inside…” (which I understand from a rhyme and meter standpoint…but still!) and Yo Gabba Gabba’s famous “Try it, you’ll like it. Just try it, you’ll like it.” I sing over these lyrics whenever possible.

Even when I suggest my daughter eat new food, I tell her, “Taste it.” Trying on clothes? I say, “Put these on…” Or the wordier: “I have to put them on and see if they fit.” Granted, this is a definition of “Try” where the word is useful, but we just don’t allow it in our house. It’s right there with the c-word (Can’t!)

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:30:23 +0000

I’m always using that Yoda quote with my kids.

By: ENMFreelancer

ENMFreelancer — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:57 +0000

Thanks for the great tip! I’ve never really thought about how “try” could weaken my authority, especially when writing instructional posts. Your explanation makes perfect sense! In the future I’ll tr– I mean, I WILL work to break the “try” habit!
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By: Dawn Allcot

Dawn Allcot — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:30:23 +0000

Eric,
I can tell from your comment that you “get” it, 100 %. Thanks for reading and commenting.

By: Erik Hare

Erik Hare — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:25:25 +0000

One of the main reasons our culture is at a dead-end is that it has come to value process over results. The word “try” has become a “tip”, a passive softening agent that avoids offense by avoiding absolute statements.

I agree that nearly everything is stronger without words like that or anything else that is emphasizing the process over the results. Show, don’t tell. “This is what good writing looks like” is much stronger than “This is what you can try”.
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