While doing some research today, I fell upon some astounding article which I thought would be best if I shared it with my esteemed readers.
Believe it or not, French author Michel Thaler published a 233 page novel 'Le Train de Nulle Part' ('The Nowhere Train') which has no verbs.
According to Language Log, Thaler describes verbs as "invaders, dictators, and usurpers of our literature", adding "the verb is like a weed in a field of flowers ... You have to get rid of it to allow the flowers to grow and flourish." He has banned infinitives as well as tensed verbs entirely from his writing, but he does exempt past participles from his linguistic Nuremberg Laws.
Sample extracts of the book from Wikipedia:
Quelle aubaine ! Une place de libre, ou presque, dans ce compartiment. Une escale provisoire, pourquoi pas ! Donc, ma nouvelle adresse dans ce train de nulle part : voiture 12, 3ème compartiment dans le sens de la marche. Encore une fois, pourquoi pas ?
Which means - "Fool's luck! A vacant seat, almost, in that train. A provisional stop, why not? So, my new address in this nowhere train: car 12, 3rd compartment, forward. Once again, why not?"
Something fascinating for sure ! One can in no way imagine life without verbs and an entire verbless novel is certainly astounding!
What do you think?
Technorati Tags Books,Writers,Little Known Facts
March 16, 2008 at 1:55 PM
Blog looks yummm...
:) u have been tagged...:)
March 16, 2008 at 4:03 PM
I like it. Both in French and English. You really don't need verbs to write a story, but it's so much easier with them. :D
No verbs is very useful if you want to speed things up, but I do think that a whole novel without verbs is a teeny bit too much.
March 17, 2008 at 4:47 AM
Hi d sinner,
Thank you for dropping by!
March 17, 2008 at 4:50 AM
Hi Manic,
Yes, I agree with you completely. An entire book without any verb!! I was really surprised to see that. I can't think of writing more than one paragraph without verbs. Aren't they the life of the sentences?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Glad to know that you liked my new venture.
March 17, 2008 at 5:51 PM
seems intresteing. leme try to get an english copy of it :)
March 17, 2008 at 8:01 PM
Hi Anoop,
I agree, Do tell me if you can get it!
March 18, 2008 at 11:14 AM
i like it both in French and English as well like manico said! :P It makes sense and that's really amazing. I never knew sentences could make sense without verbs! :p
March 18, 2008 at 5:39 PM
Hi morrin,
I suppose you must have already read the novel then! I am glad you lied it and I too am amazed...Never imagined one could write a sentence like that and now a whole novel...whew!
March 19, 2008 at 10:10 AM
That looks like a wonderful novel. An entire book without any verb. I can't even think of that. I agree with you and think it's very difficult to write a paragraph.
March 19, 2008 at 10:14 AM
Hi again,
If I write my earlier comment without using any verb, it will be something like:
"A wonderful novel. An entire book without any verb. Unbelievable. Right with you. Even a single paragraph. No..no!"
Lost the meaning too :)
Thanks for sharing.
March 20, 2008 at 8:16 PM
Hi peter,
I thought this would amaze you too and I am glad I had dreamt correctly! It certainly is difficult even to write a paragraph!
March 20, 2008 at 8:17 PM
Hi once again peter,
Nice try :P
I'm glad you tried your hands at it....i tried too but could not do as well as you!
March 21, 2008 at 12:06 AM
I have not visited for a while, sorry for that...
In the meantime you have developed with very big steps even though I thought it could not be possible!
When are you going to publish your first book?
March 21, 2008 at 1:18 AM
Wow, that is something Meghna and would certainly be challenging. Thanks for sharing.
March 24, 2008 at 6:39 AM
Hi Meghna,
Oh, that is really informative and am hearing about such a book for the first time. Keep posting.
March 24, 2008 at 5:29 PM
Hi Leena,
Thanks for the visit! I am glad you are impressed!
March 24, 2008 at 5:29 PM
Hi Sandra,
I too thought so! Thanks :D
March 24, 2008 at 5:30 PM
Hi Catherine,
Glad you liked it! :D
March 25, 2008 at 10:05 PM
The word "is" is actually a verb. The "be" verb is obviously one of the most widely used, but also cannot be avoided.
March 26, 2008 at 10:06 PM
Hi Anonymous,
Very rightly said, but I am not sure that these important words too are used in the novel because in the sample provided, these words have not been used!
By the way, I would be glad if you could publish your comment with your name :D
April 30, 2008 at 12:44 AM
Hey, wat's up Meghna it's me Nelson remember?... I just read your post about the novel with no verbs and I will comment you on youthtwitter and I won't use any verbs:)
April 30, 2008 at 7:47 AM
Hi Nelson,
Glad to see you here at my blog. I'm waiting for your 'verbless' comment on youthtwitter and I understand that it is difficult.
June 16, 2008 at 1:50 PM
Hey Meghna,
I'm Holly, this must be a rather interesting book. I can barely believe that there is anentire novel that has been written without verbs and still makes sense!
Anyway, keep up the great work and please do comment back,
Holly
P.S. my URL is
-holly3.learnerblogs.org
June 16, 2008 at 7:21 PM
Hi Holly,
Thanks for dropping by! yeah, it certainly is unbelievable but it's true :P
August 11, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Whooo. Now that is the result of a great effort.
:)
August 11, 2008 at 10:15 PM
@ Alok- Certainly :)
December 17, 2008 at 5:50 AM
WoW amazing i have a na assignment where i cant use "Be verbs"..... im having such a hard time.........
December 17, 2008 at 7:32 AM
@ Sanju kim- Wish ya luck :)
November 22, 2010 at 8:46 AM
following the sentence structure, isn't a verb vital towards a grammatically correct sentence?
March 11, 2012 at 6:29 AM
i read 6 paragraph without a verb
April 13, 2017 at 8:11 PM
where can I purchase this book?