In a recent TED Talk, Phuc Tran talks about his love for grammar, particularly the use of the subjunctive and indicative. He uses these two types of verbal moods as a tool to look at the world and one ...

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 ...

After a full-dress review of the subjunctive in the preceding chapters, this form of the English language should no longer hold any terrors for us. With a clearer understanding of its uses and ...

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 ...

IT won't be surprising at all if this basic grammar question still stumps not just a few English writers and speakers among us: "How do you know if a sentence that uses 'were' is indicative or ...

This very interesting grammar question was e-mailed to me recently by reader Doris Cheng from Hong Kong: “How do we know if a sentence that uses ‘were’ is indicative or subjunctive?” ...

Transactions of the American Philological Association (1869-1896), Vol. 1 (1869 - 1870), pp. 46-55 (10 pages) ...