“John? He’s a really good guy. We were in a tent together on K2 for a long time. He’s really dependable, and he’s got a good sense of humor, which helps when you’re stuck in a tent.” “No, no, he’s a good guy, I know. It’s just that he’s a little, you know, like this,” Doug said, flattening his hand and using it to scribe an imaginary vertical line. “Kind of on a straight path, maybe not too flexible.” “How can you tell?” “Listen to the way he conjugates verbs.” “Verbs?” “Yeah, he uses mostly preterit and command tenses. Hardly any subjunctive or conditional conjugations.”
