There are Some Rules Up with Which I will not Put
We've all heard that pesky preposition rule that sentences should never, EVER end with a preposition. Of course, we don't think about it when we're speaking, but writing is different. I've spent many moments trying to detangle a sentence so that it will sound correct without an ending preposition. Imagine my shock when I discovered that there IS no rule for ending sentences in prepositions!
Point in Case
Winston Churchill summed up the absurdity: "That is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I shall not put."
I found another fun example from one of my favorite television programs, Designing Women. As I recall (and I'm paraphrasing here), Charlene is telling the others about her encounter with a snobby woman. When Charlene asked the woman, "Where do you come from?" she answered by saying that "I come from a place where we don't end our sentences with prepositions." Charlene quickly retorted: "Where do you come from, witch (only with a "b").
Now the Truth
The Random House Dictionary says that "the often heard but misleading rule that a sentence should not end with a preposition is transferred from Latin, where it is an accurate description. But English grammar is different from Latin grammar, and the rule does not fit English."
Chicago Manual of Style agrees: "The traditional caveat of yesteryear against ending sentences with prepositions is, for most writers, an unnecessary and pedantic restriction. . . . The 'rule' prohibiting terminal prepositions was an ill-founded superstition."
Also, the confusion may have stemmed from the word's meaning: "position before."
Regardless of the origin, this is one rule with which I am happy to part (oops, I am happy to part with). Old habits die hard!
Get it Write agrees with the logic but warns that in formal writing readers will still expect you to refrain from ending a sentence with a preposition. I will no doubt still ponder those pesky ending prepositions and continue reformatting my sentences. After all, we always worry what others think.
Notice how convoluted these constructions sound:
1. That's the sorority to which she belongs.
2. He knows the state from which I hail.
3. Of what is this made?
4. It is impossible to know about what you are talking.
5. That's something into which we must look.
We've all heard that pesky preposition rule that sentences should never, EVER end with a preposition. Of course, we don't think about it when we're speaking, but writing is different. I've spent many moments trying to detangle a sentence so that it will sound correct without an ending preposition. Imagine my shock when I discovered that there IS no rule for ending sentences in prepositions!
Point in Case
Winston Churchill summed up the absurdity: "That is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I shall not put."
I found another fun example from one of my favorite television programs, Designing Women. As I recall (and I'm paraphrasing here), Charlene is telling the others about her encounter with a snobby woman. When Charlene asked the woman, "Where do you come from?" she answered by saying that "I come from a place where we don't end our sentences with prepositions." Charlene quickly retorted: "Where do you come from, witch (only with a "b").
Now the Truth
The Random House Dictionary says that "the often heard but misleading rule that a sentence should not end with a preposition is transferred from Latin, where it is an accurate description. But English grammar is different from Latin grammar, and the rule does not fit English."
Chicago Manual of Style agrees: "The traditional caveat of yesteryear against ending sentences with prepositions is, for most writers, an unnecessary and pedantic restriction. . . . The 'rule' prohibiting terminal prepositions was an ill-founded superstition."
Also, the confusion may have stemmed from the word's meaning: "position before."
Regardless of the origin, this is one rule with which I am happy to part (oops, I am happy to part with). Old habits die hard!
Get it Write agrees with the logic but warns that in formal writing readers will still expect you to refrain from ending a sentence with a preposition. I will no doubt still ponder those pesky ending prepositions and continue reformatting my sentences. After all, we always worry what others think.
Notice how convoluted these constructions sound:
1. That's the sorority to which she belongs.
2. He knows the state from which I hail.
3. Of what is this made?
4. It is impossible to know about what you are talking.
5. That's something into which we must look.
posted by Sonya at
12:12 PM
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