Oh, dear. It had to happen sooner or later: a direct clash with Chronicle editorial authority over a point of 19th-century prescriptive grammar. My Our esteemed editor, Heidi Landecker, who has saved ...

A gerund is a verbal form that looks like a participle but functions as a noun. For example: "Drinking gin on an empty stomach is really stupid." Ordinarily, gerunds are as tame as gerbils, but when ...

You are able to gift 5 more articles this month. Anyone can access the link you share with no account required. Learn more. Use of a possessive gerund or a plain participle often a matter of emphasis.

Last week we talked about participles, which are verbs that work like adjectives. Gerunds are also based on verbs, but they work like nouns. Gerunds have only one form, and it looks exactly like the ...

Even battle-hardened editors reach for their grammar textbooks when certain questions arise. Consider the -ing word, and the role it plays in a sentence such as this: We were worried about his wearing ...

A few weeks ago, I mentioned here a CNN article “about the president making an unannounced stop.” Two readers emailed with the same question. Here’s Bill in Niskayuna, N.Y.: “I was taught that a noun ...

Halt, it’s the Grammar Police! I have a growing file of grammar concerns sent in by readers, but I’m going to devote this whole column to one of them, because it’s complicated. Being a sports nut, I’m ...

"I can't object to your whistling," said my sister, "as long as you don't complain of me humming." Today's topic, you will have correctly surmised, is the Gerundicus Strabismicus, popularly known as ...