Does the title sound a little funny to you? It should. It ends with a preposition - a word that links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence, and tells the place of the noun, pronoun, or phrase in space or time.
Examples: in, behind, with, within, past, beneath, along, under.
In English the preposition usually comes before or very close to its object. And generally it's considered a no-no to end a sentence with a preposition.
However, that rule is not ironclad. If the sentence would be more awkward and confusing if you re-wrote it to put the preposition in its usual place. I would give you an example, but I haven't had enough coffee to think of an awkward sentence.
Keep this in mind when you're writing: in general, the more formal your writing, the more closely you will need to follow the rules of the English language. By contrast, when you are writing dialogue, you will be much more likely to murder the rules, since we relax the rules when speaking in real life.
For this rule, as well as all other parts of English, write in a manner that is appropriate to your subject, audience, and purpose.
Examples: in, behind, with, within, past, beneath, along, under.
In English the preposition usually comes before or very close to its object. And generally it's considered a no-no to end a sentence with a preposition.
However, that rule is not ironclad. If the sentence would be more awkward and confusing if you re-wrote it to put the preposition in its usual place. I would give you an example, but I haven't had enough coffee to think of an awkward sentence.
Keep this in mind when you're writing: in general, the more formal your writing, the more closely you will need to follow the rules of the English language. By contrast, when you are writing dialogue, you will be much more likely to murder the rules, since we relax the rules when speaking in real life.
For this rule, as well as all other parts of English, write in a manner that is appropriate to your subject, audience, and purpose.
3 comments:
Angela, I'm simply stopping by to thank you for visiting me at A Chelsea Morning. Your sweet comments mean a lot to me. And I hope you feel like you drop in any time...you're always welcome.
xo
Barb
This post reminds me of a joke. (Substitute your own favorite college rivals.)
Va. Tech student visiting UVa: "Excuse me. Where's the Rotunda at?"
UVa student: "Here at the University of Virginia, we do not end our sentences with prepositions."
Va. Tech student: "Oh, sorry. Where' the Rotunda at, jackass?"
*where's*
I guess you shouldn't end your non-s-ending-words with apostrophes, either.
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