4 ms·

Wouldn't there be a comma if he was sitting in the kitchen? Isn't there an old adage as well, "don't end a sentence with a preposition"? edit: Apparently that

Wouldn't there be a comma if he was sitting in the kitchen? Isn't there an old adage as well, "don't end a sentence with a preposition"? edit: Apparently that's an old wives tale, the preposition one.

networked 11y ago
In case you were wondering about the origins of this idea: http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004454.html http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004454.h....
beagle3 11y ago
The adage I'm familiar with is "A preposition is something you shouldn't end a sentence with". It goes hand in hand with "If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is".
jessaustin 11y ago
That's the kind of grammar prescription up with which we will not put.
- igravious 11y ago
  While I agree that the rule "Thou shall not end a sentence with a preposition." seems to be a borrowed Latinate prescription and is at variance with modern English usage, inhale, deep breath, I think your example of using the phrasal verb (put up with), though common, to demonstrate your point is not a good example. :) If we consider put-up-with as a verb that just so happens to be a compound verb-postposition-postposition _unit_ then the sentence "That's the kind of grammar prescription which we will not put up with" actually ends in a verb. If you see what I mean. Does this make sense? I'm just punting this intuitively. I'm trying to think of an actual case where a bare adpositional word terminates a sentence... which is not in question form... and I can only think poetic uses... and after having Googled a bit... verb+prep or phrasal verb or question are the only examples I've _come across_. :)
  - jessaustin 11y ago
    s/which/that/ Sorry, but that drives me crazy. I think your "verb+prep" gives the game away, as that is very common idiom. What about this: "That's the store we got the candy from." Perhaps a sentence using "where" would be more stylish, but you can't very well throw out a prescription of grammar just to immediately replace it with one of style.
    - igravious 11y ago
      Do you mean where I said, "which is not in question form..." I should've said, "that is not in question form..." My inner ear is not ringing any alarm bells there. Care to explain? I like your example. Never mind about style. I can riff on that: "There's the table we put the apple on.", "Here's the bag I keep my laptop in." And so on. Nice!
      - jessaustin 11y ago
        I would have sworn that your "verb that just so happens" was once something like "verb which just so happens". Hmmm.

networked 11y ago

In case you were wondering about the origins of this idea: http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004454.html http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004454.h....

beagle3 11y ago

The adage I'm familiar with is "A preposition is something you shouldn't end a sentence with". It goes hand in hand with "If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is".

jessaustin 11y ago

That's the kind of grammar prescription up with which we will not put.

igravious 11y ago
While I agree that the rule "Thou shall not end a sentence with a preposition." seems to be a borrowed Latinate prescription and is at variance with modern English usage, inhale, deep breath, I think your example of using the phrasal verb (put up with), though common, to demonstrate your point is not a good example. :) If we consider put-up-with as a verb that just so happens to be a compound verb-postposition-postposition _unit_ then the sentence "That's the kind of grammar prescription which we will not put up with" actually ends in a verb. If you see what I mean. Does this make sense? I'm just punting this intuitively. I'm trying to think of an actual case where a bare adpositional word terminates a sentence... which is not in question form... and I can only think poetic uses... and after having Googled a bit... verb+prep or phrasal verb or question are the only examples I've _come across_. :)
- jessaustin 11y ago
  s/which/that/ Sorry, but that drives me crazy. I think your "verb+prep" gives the game away, as that is very common idiom. What about this: "That's the store we got the candy from." Perhaps a sentence using "where" would be more stylish, but you can't very well throw out a prescription of grammar just to immediately replace it with one of style.
  - igravious 11y ago
    Do you mean where I said, "which is not in question form..." I should've said, "that is not in question form..." My inner ear is not ringing any alarm bells there. Care to explain? I like your example. Never mind about style. I can riff on that: "There's the table we put the apple on.", "Here's the bag I keep my laptop in." And so on. Nice!
    - jessaustin 11y ago
      I would have sworn that your "verb that just so happens" was once something like "verb which just so happens". Hmmm.