Is the verb after the phrase ‘number of’ singular or plural? A simple rule is that if ‘the’ precedes the phrase ‘number of’, then the verb after the phrase is singular. For example, n The number of ...

Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about English grammar and usage — most of which I promptly forgot. And not for lack of use. Every day I apply what I’ve learned to catch and fix writers’ mistakes.

A reader named Judy recently wrote to say it bothers her to hear "None were there" in place of "None was there." Then a reader named Richard noticed this news headline, "Disabled couple win right to ...

Usually English plurals are pretty easy. Just add s: one dog, two dogs. We know some plurals don't use s: children, deer. There are some nouns that we seem to use only in the plural: thanks, ...

Q. We all know that the plural of the word “mouse” is “mice.” However, if I write the word “mouse” 10 times on a piece of paper, would you then refer to them collectively as “mice” or “mouses”? Also, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Q: I drive a school bus, and this morning one of my seventh graders said to me, “Monte, did you see those deers on the side of the road?” I explained to him that certain words, like “deer,” are both ...

Some sneaky words out there look like plurals but take a singular verb. "Whereabouts" is one of those words, and here's an example from Monday's front page: Gadhafi’s defenders quickly melted away as ...