The dictionary is gaslighting me. I know I sound crazy, but that’s just proof of gaslighting, right? Let me explain. For years I’ve been telling people that they never have to agonize over whether to ...

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 ...

Participial forms of many verbs function as adjectives in phrases and sentences. An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. Any word, even if it is associated with a different part of ...

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 ...

Welcome back to Paris and to the blog! Thanks for everyone's comments. I'm glad to hear my last homework was useful. A special hello to new student Rooshne - welcome to our community. Chrystel - I ...

A RECENT ARTICLE in The Economist on Germany’s coalition talks was given the headline “Green-lit”. Elsewhere, though, we have reported that ventures were “greenlighted”. Another new verb is subject to ...