One of the most fascinating things about language is that we can use it so well, so expertly, without understanding how we do it. The following two sentences are perfect examples. If the burglar was ...

“Let’s see,” you may say to yourself about three-quarters through the typical first-year Spanish course, “how many verb tenses have we studied? 1. Present Indicative; 2. Imperfect Indicative; 3.

AFTER our rigorous three-part review of the subjunctive, this form of the English language should no longer hold any terrors for us. But even with a good grasp of the subjunctive, we must remain ...

It is often bemoaned in Britain that English is going to pieces—and Americans are generally to blame. Whether you call it decline or not, the moaners are on to something: America has indeed produced ...

Verbs have to agree with their subject: a plural subject requires a plural verb ('people are ...') and a singular subject requires a singular verb ('the woman is ...'). In many European languages, ...