English grammar is in a state of continual evolution, manifesting a dynamic interplay between historical conventions and emerging usage. This evolution is evidenced by shifts in syntactic structures, ...

The Oxford comma. “Ask” instead of “aks.” There, their, and they’re. The legitimacy of “ain’t” and “y’all.” These are familiar, if sometimes contentious, issues in the usage of the English language.

The passive voice: despised by teachers, maligned by editors, and misunderstood by almost everyone. For over a century, this grammatical construction has been the bogeyman of English writing, blamed ...