Singers and songwriters never need to worry about grammar. In fact, they actually benefit from flouting grammar rules. It simply wouldn’t be the same if the Rolling Stones sang “Whom Do You Love” or ...

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 ...

I begin this lesson on a difficult grammatical concept called the “subjunctive mood” with a memory of one of the first pornographic films I ever saw. It was called “The Secret Lives of Romeo and ...

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 ...

The New York Times' After Deadline blog contains a fantastic letter to the paper's editor from March of 1924 that reminds us that the more things change, the more they stay the same, copy-wise and ...

Today’s column describes the subjunctive mood. Some readers may be tempted to respond, “What in the world is that?” and “Why do I need to know about it?” Those questions, I submit, would probably ...

@tanehisi Only a mood in English, but it is used with dreams, doubts, wants and possibilties. It's why ppl say "if I were" instead of "was." -- Erin (Q.) Hinson (@myriare) March 1, 2013 To help with ...

Ian McMillan gets into the subjunctive mood with brand new writing from Toby Litt, a new poetry commission from Holly Pester, on the subjunctive in welsh with Menna Elfyn and Rob Drummond explains why ...