This morning, I’ve been going through the HUGE database to find out which of the 123 usage problems was treated most by the usage guides (77 in all). Does anyone want to make a guess?
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I’m going to guess lay/lie.
Excellent try, Jonathan, but wrong I’m afraid. Shall/will is the usage problem most discussed. I’m going to try and find out why, though suggestions will be very welcome. It is an old rule, going back to a grammar by Wallis, published in 1653. Perhaps it is still a usage problem today because the rule (simple though it was, and very easy to memorise) never actually worked because it never had a basis in actual usage.