I’m a little fussy about past participles. Unjustifiably fussy. It may have to do with the fact that I married someone from small-town Massachusetts, where everything is “I have ate this” and “I ...

I want to follow up on the topic of language evolution that I took up in my previous newsletter about how the word “satisfying” has taken on a new meaning among many of today’s kids. The bigger theme ...

Present and past particples are used as parts of certain verb constructions but they can be used in a number of different ways. Present participle (verb-ing) clauses can be used without a subject ...

No matter how long you’ve been speaking English, no matter how hard you’ve worked to perfect your grammar, some past tense verbs can stump you. For example, the day after you decide to grin and bear ...

Stepping on camera, I will relax completely. (When I step - future time clause) Not knowing the baby slept, she phoned. (Because she didn't know the baby slept.) Knowing not to call because the baby ...