Instead of ‘Said’

Instead of ‘Said’

Said doesn’t tell us much about how the character is feeling so let’s try some different words instead of said…

E.g “Sit down’” the teacher said...compared to…’Sit down!” the teacher screamed

In the first example we really can’t tell much about how the teacher is feeling because the word ‘said’ doesn’t give away much meaning but in the second example we know the teacher is angry because ‘screamed’ is a strong verb that gives away a lot of meaning.

Think of other verbs we can use instead of said - try looking in your books. There are hundreds of different possibilities that can add a lot of meaning to your writing!

sobbed	yelled	grumbled	answered	Shouted
Mumbled	observed	uttered	offered	Growled
pleaded	commented	promised	accused	questioned
moaned	roared	screamed	replied	repeated
Whispered	reported	wailed	grizzled	Cried
muttered	volunteered	spoke	piped	quoted
hypothesized	sang	shrieked	reassured	proposed
Croaked	proclaimed	voiced	murmured	echoed
objected	annoyed	noted	exclaimed	scolded
Joked	urged	scoffed	Nagged	spluttered
Whined	flopped	wondered	Choked	snapped
surmised	threatened	gasped	queried	Demanded
observed	mimicked	mentioned	told	stuttered
remarked	reasoned	ordered	mused	nodded
remembered	bubbled	snarled	warned	notified
Teased	sneezed	pestered	sighed	crowed
Approved	crackled	quoted	boasted	snorted
cried	boasted	shrieked	nagged	called
disapproved	Cheered	agreed	promised	instructed
continued	joked	babbled	argued	objected
confessed	bawled	added	warned	yelled
assured	Demanded	Wept	cursed	griped
interrupted	boomed	bragged	added	worried
mocked	asked	beamed	promised	ordered
gulped	laughed	exclaimed	answered	Yelped
acknowledged	questioned	muttered	hissed	scolded
quivered	complained	whispered	replied	roared