<p>I'm writing an essay. Which one is correct/sounds better?</p>
<p>"I had never seen the videos that were imperative to watch."</p>
<p>"I had never seen the videos it was imperative to watch."</p>
<p>Or a different way to word it?</p>
<p>It was imperative to watch the videos I had never seen.</p>
<p>The first one.</p>
<p>Or how about, "I had never seen the videos (even) though they were imperative to watch."</p>
<p>yeah i suppose. thanks</p>
<p>drummerdude, you're twisitng the whole meaning! :D</p>
<p>yeah thats true, i'm still going to try to reword it though</p>
<p>I vote for Goldshadow's version</p>
<p>I would rework the sentence to avoid the phrase "was imperative." Sounds a bit wordy and awkward. Relying too heavily on forms of "to be" robs your prose of the force, grace, and economy that come with choosing more precise verbs.</p>
<p>the entire sentence needs to lose the "imperative part". Just say, though the videos were important, I had never seen them. Somethin' like that.</p>
<p>you guys are dumb, its the second one obviously</p>
<p>"they were important, but I've never watched them."</p>
<p>simple, to the point.</p>
<p>The OP probably has a good reason for using the word imperative in the sentence, probably to create some type of effect. I think the way the sentence should be phrased depends on the context. Could you provide us with a few more lines?</p>