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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/11257-The-Drama-of-Prepositions.html
Drama: March 23, 2022 Issue [#11257]




 This week: The Drama of Prepositions
  Edited by: Lilith of House Martell
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

The best-known rule about prepositions is that you shouldn't end a sentence with one. And that rule is absolutely correct—if you're speaking Latin. It seems that this superstitious rule dates back to 18th Century English grammar books that based their rules on Latin grammar.


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Letter from the editor

How many of us have been told by teachers or reviewers, "don't end your sentence with a preposition"?

Well, I'm here to tell you it's a completely fake 'grammar rule' and I have a couple of examples for you.

Winston Churchill is apocryphally said to have mocked this rule with the wonderfully awkward sentence, "This is a thing up with which I will not put”. Interestingly enough, the natural way to say that sentence also ends in a preposition: This is the sort of thing I won't put up with. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Imagine that!

Here's another example. In 1672 author John Dryden criticized fellow author, playwright Ben Johnson for ending his sentences in prepositions calling it a "common fault with him". This is because Dryden wanted English grammar to parallel Latin grammar, but in Latin, sentences cannot end in prepositions. So the English/Latin comparison is bogus.

This complaint about prepositions proliferated through the culture, giving the kind of people who write letters to the editor, even more to complain about. The whole uproar over ending sentences with a preposition is just a 350-year-old pet peeve. Linguists and usage guides all agree that the terminal preposition is fine.

If you don't like to end your sentences with prepositions, you don't have to—just don't say that it is a rule. And if you like to end your sentences with a succinct with, go right ahead and keep doing so—just don't quote Winston Churchill when someone says that you shouldn't.


Editor's Picks

BOOK
Kiya's Big Book of Writing Guidelines  (E)
For all tips and guidelines to help improve your writing skills.
#1299892 by iKïyå§ama-House Targaryen


 
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The Misunderstood Comma  (E)
Understanding proper comma placement is possible.
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Fiction Writing: Style and Voice  (13+)
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#2268259 by A E Willcox


BOOK
Blog - A Young Writer's Journey  (18+)
A blog documenting my writing journey
#2256499 by WriterAngel



 
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