Name: Correct preposition use.
Age: The quarrel is probably as old as English prepositions themselves, so about 600 years.
And what is the quarrel? “It is permissible in English for a preposition to be what you end a sentence with.”
Ew, that sounds a bit awkward. Does it mean it’s OK to end a sentence with a preposition? Yes.
And just remind me – it’s been a while – a preposition is …? About, to, in, at, of, upon etc. The above was a post on Instagram.
By? Yes, by can also be a preposition.
No, who was the post by? Or by whom was the post?
Argh, just tell me! Merriam-Webster, the American dictionary publisher. Someone in its social media department clearly thought they were being clever by writing the post in the form of its subject.
Got it. And good – it’s what I struggle most with. Or with what you struggle most … Actually, that’s a better example, because it demonstrates how totally acceptable it is to end with a “with”.
We should work in the social media team of Merriam-Webster. The post adds: “The idea that it should be avoided came from writers who were trying to align the language with Latin, but there is no reason to suggest ending a sentence with a preposition is wrong.”
So it’s OK to end with a preposition? It’s confirmed in the FAQ section of its online dictionary: “The people who claim that a terminal preposition is wrong are clearly clinging to an idea born in the 17th century and largely abandoned by grammar and usage experts in the early 20th century.”
Others disagree? “Maybe so,” said one respondent on Instagram. “But it doesn’t sound expressive and at times sounds like someone isn’t intelligent enough to articulate themselves.”
Well, I think they sound snobbish. It was probably drummed into them at school. Wrongly.
To wrongly drum in – that would be wrong, right? Grammatically, to casually split infinitives is frowned upon by some but embraced and celebrated by Trekkies since 1966 – as in “to boldly go”.
Ooh, I love a grammar controversy. Got any more? A stickler might say they don’t like a singular they, they also don’t like no double negatives, and nor do they like an Oxford comma.
Still, you probably get less grammar sticklers these days. One probably gets. And fewer. But yeah, hopefully.
Do say: “That’s what I’m talking about!”
Don’t say: “It’s about that that I’m talking! PS: Fancy a quickie?”
Eh? Where did that come from? Just ending with a proposition …
