The bedrock of grammar, at least the grammar of English and other languages like it, is the connection of a subject and a verb. We speak or write a sentence because we have something to say about something. What we’re saying something about is called the subject, and what we’re saying about that subject is …
Author Archives: rultimo
Get Going
Not too long ago, I came upon this sign taped to the door of a medical office: Covid-19 Test: Going Through This Door. It’s fair to say, I think, that we all know what the notice meant: that one should use that door to get to the Covid testing site. From a grammatical point of …
Two Connectives
What is the difference between a preposition and a conjunction? The question can help us see that writing a good sentence—and understanding what we’ve written—involves not just finding the right words, but combining those words into meaningful groups. Being able to see word groups dissolves many a grammatical problem, and can even suggest new revisions …
Two Whats
In studying grammar, it can be helpful—or inspiring or consoling even—to remember the difference between complex and complicated. When we say something is complex, we mean that it has many different parts, all working smoothly together as an intricate system. When we say that something is complicated, though, we mean that it has many different …
Grammatical Attraction
One of the fundamentals of English grammar is that a verb agrees in number with its subject. When we think of a verb, we probably think first of tense, the time when the action is occurring. But verbs also have number, meaning singular and plural. If the subject is singular, the verb should be singular; …