Comments on: Go Ahead, Put that Preposition at the End!

By: SweetBecca

SweetBecca — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:32:43 +0000

“according to the impression it makes on the feeling of educated English readers”

it would seem educated English readers frequent this site, hence i found it curious titles of two articles at DailyWritingTips both end with prepositions:

Whom Are You Writing For? by Michael
and
Whom Are You Writing For? by Sharon

By: mohamed

mohamed — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:20:58 +0000

once a man said: i hate myself and I want to die. but the problem is that he suisided .i’not sure but there’s nothing to die for in this whole world.

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:28:57 +0000

In your provided sentence “He left on the horse he rode in on,” the second “on” is probably unnecessary.

Also, “away” is not a preposition and never is such.

I love “up with which I shall not put.” I think it sounds awesome and it is grammatically correct.

Ending sentences with prepositions is lazy. It’s also confusing to foreigners.

By: PreciseEdit

PreciseEdit — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 02:04:07 +0000

Yes, those English teachers can be wrong, and often are. However, we agree on this issue–to a point. Here’s the problem: prepositions typically BEGIN prepositional phrases, and, as such, require an object of the preposition. A prepositional phrase cannot be completed if the preposition is the last word in the sentence.

However, sometimes those words that look like prepositions are used as part of verb, in which case we have no problem putting them at the end of the sentence.

Here’s a couple of example to illustrate what we mean.

1. “She’s the girl I want to get away from.” “From” is being used as a preposition, but what is the object of the preposition? It’s “the girl.” This sentence could easily be revised to read, “She’s the girl from whom I want to get away.” [A better revision might be "I want to get away from her." Notice that this version is more direct and, happily, has an object to the preposition "from."]

2. “She’s the girl from whom I want to get away.” “Away” seems like a preposition, but it is being used as part of the verb “get away,” which is different than the action of getting “getting.” [Actually, in this case, "away" is being used as an adverb, but, for all practical purposes, it's acting like part of the verb.] “Get away” refers to a particular type of action, so we’re fine with leaving “away” at the end of the sentence. This is like “I looked his phone number up.” “Looked up” refers to a particular action and, though divided, is acting like a single verb.

One last comment: “What did you do that for?” is actually an abbreviated, dialectic, version of “For what reason did you do that?” However, it can be revised as “Why did you do that,” which we prefer for its simplicity.

Ultimately, you have to determine the appropriate level of formality. If the writing is casual, go for it. If the writing is meant to be formal and professional, then consider those ending prepositions very carefully and think about effective revisions. They might be something you can live with.

By: Rebecca Laffar-Smith

Rebecca Laffar-Smith — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 10:47:36 +0000

*chuckles* Mike and Maeve must be the kind of arrant pedants with whom Churchill would not put up. In a sense, ending the sentence with up would be considered accurate because it is the location. ‘Put up’ being to unduly lift above station. Of course, that reason then causes issues with the word, “with”. ‘Put up’ is also used as a term relating to taking time with someone/thing. We ‘put up’ our feet with this person/thing. Obviously, we all regularly use questionable English. The languages imperfections are a great part of its charm.

Chippy, Maeve covers Further vs. Farther here: http://www.dailywritingtips.co.....ifference/

You can also get another perspective from Melissa Donovan at Writing Forward: Is It Farther Or Further?.