“If there were a Form 3, you would have already filled it out.” Reader Jessica had a question about a sentence like this. The speaker already knew about a Form 1 and a Form 2. The existence of Form 3, ...

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 ...

In my preceding two columns, I explained the difference between a second conditional sentence and a subjunctive sentence, then discussed the maverick behavior of verbs in subjunctive sentences. I ...

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, ...