# The hidden superpower of verbs, with Sarah L. Kaufman Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/the-hidden-superpower-of-verbs-with-sarah-l-kaufman Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/the-hidden-superpower-of-verbs-with-sarah-l-kaufman.md Podcast: [Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.](https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700) Published: 2026-04-30T09:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/the-hidden-superpower-of-verbs-with-sarah-l-kaufman Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/e/69e7b865c8a506316dbd295c/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/the-hidden-superpower-of-verbs-with-sarah-l-kaufman Duration seconds: 1649 ## Resource 1181. This week, we talk to Sarah L. Kaufman about verbs. We look at why English is a "manner verb" superpower and why babies often learn prepositions before actions. Then, we look at how choosing strong, dynamic verbs can actually save lives during a disaster and how specific words like "smash" can physically alter a witness's memory. Find Sarah L. Kaufman at sarahlkaufman.com Get Sarah’s books, “Verb Your Enthusiasm” and “The Art of Grace” 🔗  Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. 🔗  Share your familect recording in  Speakpipe  or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) 🔗  Watch my  LinkedIn Learning writing courses . 🔗  Subscribe to the  newsletter . 🔗  Take  our advertising survey . 🔗  Get the edited  transcript here . 🔗  Get  Grammar Girl books . | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of  the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network . Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb | Theme music by  Catherine Rannus . | Grammar Girl Social Media:  YouTube .  TikTok .  Facebook .  Threads .  Instagram .  LinkedIn .  Mastodon .  Bluesky . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/the-hidden-superpower-of-verbs-with-sarah-l-kaufman/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/the-hidden-superpower-of-verbs-with-sarah-l-kaufman.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.