It wouldn’t be a Man Booker Prize shortlist without a controversy in the British press, but this year’s furor — launched by one-time Booker judge Philip Hensher — may strike some readers as a bit ...

Writers, over the last decade, have been waxing lyrical about the rise of the present tense in English fiction. But this morning I read something entirely new – for me, at least. I read a manuscript ...

“John Humphrys dislikes mint choc-chip ice-cream” is not a headline I can easily imagine reading, but you never know. The Today programme presenter has sent shockwaves through the chattering classes ...

Mastering English tenses is crucial for fluency, enabling precise communication of when actions occur. The English tense system organizes time into past, present, and future, each with simple, ...

From Hilary Mantel and David Mitchell to Goldsmith’s prize winner Kevin Barry, more and more writers are adopting this way of storytelling to bring immediacy and intimacy to their work It was ...

A doctor friend tells a story that illustrates why it's important to understand verb tenses. A patient whose first language is not English is asked about quitting smoking. He says, "I try. I don't ...

Like newspaper headlines and personal anecdotes (So I’m walking down the street yesterday, and this guy comes up to me and he says …), sportscasting has a special affinity for the present tense. But ...

In his latest book, Magic Words, Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger delves into how the specific words and grammar we use directly affect our persuasiveness. Pulling from his latest research ...