Here’s something I bet you never knew was controversial: “I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me.” Yes, language sticklers might have a problem with that, even though you need an advanced ...

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 ...

Okay, now we're going to tackle the dangling participle. A participle is the form of the verb that has ing on the end of it. And when you begin a sentence with a participle, that phrase has to modify ...

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 ...

If you ever knew what a “participle” was, you may have forgotten. Same with the word “gerund.” And if you ever heard the term “fused participle,” you probably zoned out completely. The concept of a ...