What is happening to the English language? I learned the difference between singular and plural nouns while in elementary school. That was reinforced during middle school, high school and college. It ...

“He is one of the people who consistently supports our positions.” That’s how Jim Sedlak, director of public policy for the American Life League, described John Ashcroft, President-elect George W.

Mayor Carlson, along with his deputies, plan to visit the memorial. Mayor Carlson, along with his deputies, plans to visit the memorial. Which is right? Plan or plans? And, more important, why is this ...

Should you say a person’s whereabouts "is" unknown or "are" unknown? Dictionaries say "whereabouts" is one of those words that may be used with either a singular or a plural verb. One reference book ...

Written for THE NEW YORK TIMES SATUR- DAY REVIEW By the Hon. John W. Foster. Formerly Secretary of State, United States Minister To Russia, Spain, &C. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home ...

I recently fielded questions about two subject-verb agreement errors that readers noticed in the media. One was heard on an NPR program. The other was committed by, um, a columnist who should have ...

The time is at hand to tend a few perennials in our garden of prose. Among the hardiest of questions is a poser that ought not to be a poser: Does "none" take a singular or plural verb? The New York ...

Collective nouns can be taken as singular or plural, according to whether the word is seen as a unit or as individual items. For example: Thefamilyis proud ofitslineage. Family is seen as a whole unit ...

As terse as they normally are, newspaper headlines are designed to get your attention by, as much as possible, summarizing the main body text. Two words in last week’s headline of this column; ...