~ / operators / grammarlesson 1/7

Operator + motion: d, c and y

Vim edits are sentences: a verb (the operator) and how far (the motion).

?how it works

Most edits in Vim are a two-part sentence: an operator (the verb) followed by a motion (how far). d deletes, c changes (deletes, then puts you in Insert mode) and y yanks, which is Vim for copy.

Any motion works after an operator. dw deletes to the start of the next word, de to the end of this word, db back to the start of the word, d$ to the end of the line and d0 to the start of it. Learn three operators and a handful of motions and you already know dozens of commands.

cw is a friendly exception: on a word it acts like ce, so the space after the word survives and you can type the replacement straight away.

The classic beginner habit is tapping x over and over. If you are about to press the same key three times, there is almost always an operator and a motion that does it in two.

⌨keys

`d{motion}`	delete over a motion
`c{motion}`	change: delete over a motion, then Insert mode
`y{motion}`	yank (copy) over a motion
`dw`	delete to the start of the next word
`de`	delete to the end of the word
`db`	delete back to the start of the word
`d$`	delete to the end of the line
`d0`	delete back to the start of the line
`cw`	change to the end of the word (like ce)

4 drills

Delete a doubled word: Someone typed a word twice. Delete the extra copy under the cursor with one operator and one motion.
Delete the word behind you: The cursor is on the word after a duplicate. Delete the duplicate behind the cursor without moving first.
Chop off the end of a line: Delete everything from the cursor to the end of the line.
Change a word: Replace the word under the cursor with the one in the target. Use the change operator so you land in Insert mode ready to type.

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