“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, ...

Once upon a time, it was weird to drive alone in your car with your lips moving. In the dark days before Bluetooth technology, a jabbering jaw on a bouncing head meant a driver was singing along with ...

For grammar bullies “the subjunctive” is sacred ground. Reforms proposed for the British national curriculum in 2012 required teaching use of the subjunctive not later than sixth grade. People seem to ...

Professionally trained linguists, please put your fingers in your ears and say “La-la-la-la-la” for the remainder of this post. Using terms that are no doubt clunky and antiquated, I want to point out ...

Why is Christian Science in our name? Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we’ve always been transparent about that. The church publishes the ...

Have we decided yet? Is this "Lent, Again?" Or is it "Lent, Still?" The past year has demonstrated a strange elastic quality about time. Time drags but it also passes in a heartbeat. In the odd ...