If English isn’t your first language, there are lots of ways to learn it, such as memorizing Barack Obama’s speech to the 2004 Democratic Convention. Martha and Grant talk about some of the unusual ways foreigners are learning to speak...
Favorite online reading. If the subjunctive tense were to disappear from English, would anybody care? And just in time for this romantic weekend, a caller discovers the meaning of…lurve. That’s L-U-R-V-E.
If the subjunctive tense were to disappear from English, would our language be the poorer for it? The hosts have strongly different opinions about it. This is part of a complete episode.
suitcase n.— «I recommend what a trainer once referred to as “suitcases” where you lie flat on your back, lifting your feet slightly off the ground, arms overhead slightly from touching the ground (this should tense up your...
lick n.— «Many folks in the rest of the country wonder why anyone would want to live in such a flood-prone place. Luke becomes visibly tense at the subject and responds, “It’s a way of life,” referring to living on the water...
In this week’s episode, Martha and Grant discuss not-to-be-believed articles about language from the satirical newspaper The Onion, including one headlined “Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut Past Tense from Language Programs.” By...