Once upon a time, it was weird to drive alone in your car with your lips moving. In the dark days before Bluetooth technology, a jabbering jaw on a bouncing head meant a driver was singing along with ...

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 ...

In my last column, I wrote about the importance of the subjunctive in Spanish and provided one way to help you understand it (TT,May 25). I suggested that you become aware that the subjunctive exists ...

Grammatically, the subjunctive is a verb mood, not a verb tense. Most sentences use the indicative mood; the subjunctive in English has fairly restricted uses. Often, subjunctive forms don't look any ...

Stephanie was here. I wish Stephanie were here. Tim picks up the dry cleaning. It’s imperative that Tim pick up the dry cleaning. You are on time. It’s crucial you be on time. Have you ever noticed ...

Can you spot what’s wrong with that tweet? Besides the fact that millions of people retweeted a selfie, there’s a rather egregious grammatical error in the first ...

Have we decided yet? Is this "Lent, Again?" Or is it "Lent, Still?" The past year has demonstrated a strange elastic quality about time. Time drags but it also passes in a heartbeat. In the odd ...

@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 ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. From Mr Michael Nimetz. Sir, Why does the FT persist in banishing the subjunctive mode from its pages? Your ...