Published

2 years ago

July 25, 2024

Alice Rush

A reader asks:

I learned almost all the grammar I still know from Latin, French and German where these constructions had to be more explicitly explained: Declension and conjugation from Latin, subjunctives from German, etc. My question is, am I unusual in this respect or did you gain a better command of English by comparing (it) with other languages?

Studying Latin and the other languages helps, but I wouldn’t overemphasize this. English has the subjunctive mood. We don’t say, “If I was king.” or “Joe wishes he was taller.” We don’t have conjugations of verbs, but we have more than our share of irregular verbs, which I would argue earns our language what it’s known to be: a beast to learn.

My point is that one can achieve a solid command of English grammar without any exposure to anything beyond.

The issue is caring. My family cared a great deal, as did the private school my brother and I attended. When I come across people with poor grammar I realize: no one cared. That’s sad, especially considering that the average European high school student becomes fluent in at least two languages, and sometimes four or five.

When my kids were young, I told them, “No one can look into your mind and read your thoughts. For that reason, those around you will listen to what you say or read what you write and form their judgements as to your intelligence accordingly. If you don’t want to be thought to be an idiot, put in a bit of effort and nail down the basics of our language.

A Letter from a Reader on English Grammar

Renewable Energy

ExxonMobil Lowering Carbon Emissions? Sure.

Published

11 hours ago

February 14, 2026

Alice Rush

Exxon: We’re investing in innovative technologies to reduce carbon emissions while supporting the needs of heavy industry.

As a marketing consultant, here’s my advice to Exxon:

Keep your money in your pockets. There is no conceivable investment in public relations that will convince us, as stupid as we may be as a nation, that you care a damn about the health of our planet’s environment, or about the wellbeing of life on Earth.

ExxonMobil Lowering Carbon Emissions? Sure.

Renewable Energy

Gallup Disappears into Ignominy

Published

1 day ago

February 13, 2026

Alice Rush

Until this announcement, I think anyone would have said that Gallup, Inc., founded in 1935, had a solid reputation for honesty and integrity.

Yesterday, all that vanished in the blink of an eye.

Imagine you’re one of about 2000 employees located in one of about 35 offices around the world, including New York City, London, Berlin, Sydney, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi. How sickened would you be?

Gallup Disappears into Ignominy

Renewable Energy

Trump Digs Coal

Published

2 days ago

February 13, 2026

Alice Rush

From “The Other 98”

Trump now wants Americans to believe that greenhouse gases don’t endanger human life, a claim that flies in the face of virtually every scientist on Earth. His administration just erased the EPA’s longstanding “endangerment finding,” the scientific and legal cornerstone that said carbon pollution warms the planet and harms human health. Without it, the EPA can no longer regulate greenhouse gases from factories, cars, or power plants, effectively stripping the federal government of its ability to combat climate change.