I was in line at the grocery store the other day and I happened to overhear the person behind me say to someone on the phone, if I can help you, I will. The resolve and companionship of the pledge moved me, and later I wondered how very different my reaction could have been with …
Author Archives: rultimo
In a Contrary Mood
The question before us today is which of these statements is correct: if I was president or if I were president? The problem involves what is called the subjunctive mood of a verb, and as off putting as the terminology might be, we use it (or don’t use it) every day. Either of these statements, …
Clarifying the Antecedent
Here is a tricky sentence construction that might catch you by surprise. Look closely at the grammar of this sentence and see if you can detect what’s wrong: She is one of those persons who makes a decision quickly and then acts decisively. The problem here has to do with the antecedent of who and …
Those Principal Parts
In my last post (The Verb Phrase), I referred to something called the principal parts of a verb. This concept is fundamental to the study and practice of grammar, and a few more words about it might serve us well. Let’s begin by remembering that verbs lie at the heart of our everyday sentences. We …
The Verb Phrase
Lessons abound. I was standing by my car the other day, waiting for a friend to finish shopping. Someone parks in the space next to mine, walks toward the store, and then turns around abruptly to retrieve his pandemic mask. As he passes me again, he points to the mask and says, we’re going to …