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 ...

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 ...

IN A recent supplement to The Economist, called “The World If”, we considered several hypothetical futures under such headlines as: “If Donald Trump was president” or “If the ocean was transparent”.

What is it about the subjunctive form that makes both native and nonnative users of English intimidated and prone to error when using it? The reason is verbs in the ...

Every time I hear someone say, “If I were you” or “I wish I were going,” it always surprises me. When I hear people say things like, “It’s crucial you be there,” I’m even more surprised. Chances are, ...

The reason is verbs in the singular third-person subjunctive ignore the subject-verb agreement rule. They drop the "-s" or "-es" at their tail ends and take the base form of the verb (the verb's ...