FOR my dissertation for a PhD in applied linguistics, I wrote a 300-page manuscript all about verbs in Philippine English. One might imagine I have an unusual obsession with verbs — and, yes, I had.

“Many older adults said they feel positively about their lives,” the New York Times reported recently. That sentence probably sounds as acceptable to you as it did to the Times editors. But what if ...

See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google As a linguist, ...

A verb is a word used to describe an action. That’s doing something. Or, a verb can be used to describe a state. That’s feeling something. Or, a verb can be used to describe an occurrence. That’s ...

"Turn off the TV" is an example of a phrasal verb, which is a verb that has a base verb and one or two particles. Credit: MikeSleigh/Getty Images A ‘phrasal verb’ is a verb that has a base verb and ...