Ending with a Preposition
A closer look at preposition placement
Should you end a sentence with a preposition?
MERRIAM-WEBSTER The question of the correctness of a preposition at the end of a sentence or clause is one which has been under discussion for more than three centuries. As is not the case with some of the other long-lived topics examined in this book, recent commentators — at least since Fowler 1926 — are unanimous in their rejection of the notion that ending a sentence with a preposition is an error or an offense against propriety. Fowler terms the idea "cherished superstition." and not only do the commentators reject the notion, but actual usage supports their rejection. So if everybody who is in the know agrees, there's no problem, right? Wrong. It is not clear how the terminal preposition became an error. The structure does not exist in Latin. — Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage.
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HUDDLESTON & PULLUM Instead of being dismissed as unsupported foolishness, the unwarranted rule against stranding [ending with a preposition] was repeated in prestigious grammars towards the end of the eighteenth century, and from the nineteenth century on it was widely taught in schools. The result is that older people with traditional educations and outlooks still tend to believe that stranding is always some kind of mistake. It is not. All modern usage manuals, even the sternest and stuffiest, agree with descriptive and theoretical linguists on this… (CaGEL 627) |
BURCHFIELD (FOWLER) Preposition at end. (a) History of attitudes. One of the most persistent myths about prepositions in English is that they properly belong before the word or words they govern and should not be placed at the end of a clause or sentence. (Fowler goes on to cite several examples in the history of the "myth".) 3 Final Verdict. In most circumstances, esp. in formal writing, it is desirable to avoid placing a preposition at the end of a clause or sentence, where it has the appearance of being stranded. But there are many circumstances in which a preposition may or even must be placed late, and others where the degree of formality required governs the placing. — Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage. (619)
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QUIRK & GREENBAUM A prejudice against such deferred (or 'stranded') prepositions … remains in formal English which, for direct or indirect questions and for relative clauses, offers the alternative of an initial preposition. The alternative construction is often felt, however, to be stilted and awkward especially in speech. In some cases, such as the following, the deferred preposition has no proposed alternative… (CoGEL 9.4)
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Wh-Questions
| INFORMAL | FORMAL |
|---|---|
Informal and formal English places a preposition at the end of a sentence. When a question word is the object of a preposition, the preposition most often occurs at the end of the sentence (or clause) especially in informal usage. |
In formal English, the preposition is placed before the WH- question word, at the beginning of the sentence (or clause). (Note that an intimate or personal question is unlikely to be phrased formally unless it is asked in a court of law.). |
QUESTIONS Who is a dating service for? |
QUESTIONS For whom is a dating service? very formal |
Who did you give your number to? |
To whom did you give your number? very formal |
What kind of hobbies are you interested in? |
In what kind of hobbies are you interested? very formal |
What does she look like? |
Like what does she look? not used |
Where do you come from? |
From where do you come? extremely formal |
What are you concerned about? |
About what are you concerned? (This is awkward because it is an personal question with formal phrasing.) |
Which card did you pay with? |
With which card did you pay? informal and formal usage (with tends to be place before the wh- pronoun.) |
SHORT QUESTIONS What for? (expression) purpose |
SHORT QUESTIONS For what? very formal |
Who for? (expression) recipient |
For whom? very formal |
Where to? (expression) toward a direction |
To where? very formal |
What with? (expression) means or method, or tool |
With what? very formal |
EMBEDDED QUESTIONS Can you tell me what you are looking for? (phrasal verb) |
EMBEDDED QUESTIONS Can you tell me for what you are looking? awkward |
Do you know who she is talking to? |
Do you know to whom she is talking? |
Do you have any idea what this is for? purpose |
Do you have any idea for what this is? not used |
Please let me know which person you are interested in? (verbal + PP) |
Please let me know in which person you are interested? awkward |
Statements
| INFORMAL | FORMAL |
|---|---|
Final prepositions also occur at the end of sentences with infinitive or passive grammatical structures. |
A sentence avoiding the terminal preposition can be restated by adding a clause with the relative pronoun as the object of the preposition. |
INFINITIVE STRUCTURES This is a pleasant city to live in. |
INFINITIVE STRUCTURES This is a pleasant city in which to live. |
These are delightful people to talk with. |
These are delightful people with which to talk. |
PASSIVE VOICE He likes to be looked at. |
ACTIVE VOICE He likes to be the guy at whom someone looks. |
She likes to be doted on. dote – care for, closely attend |
She likes to be the woman on whom someone dotes. |
She was operated on. |
She is the woman on whom the someone operated. |
This chair is new. It hasn't been sat in. |
This is a chair in which no one has sat. |
Common Mistake
| ERROR | FIX |
|---|---|
Where is it at? unspecific use of a final preposition |
OMIT THE PRONOUN Where is it ? |
Where's it at? (slang expression) – where is the action, excitement, or the cool stuff happening |
USE WHICH – FINAL PLACEMENT Which room is it in? / Which shelf is it on? / Which stop is it at? |
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USE WHICH– INITIAL PLACEMENT In which city is it? / On which street is it? / At which address is it?
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Pop-Q "What for"
Prepositions
Omitting vs. including
Options
| INFORMAL – PREPOSITION OMITTED | FORMAL – PREPOSITION INCLUDED |
|---|---|
Informal English drops the preposition in these examples |
In more formal speech and writing, the preposition is included. |
IN COMMON QUESTIONS What day are you meeting (on)? What day are you meeting? |
On what day are you meeting? We are meeting on Tuesday. |
What time is your meeting (at)? What time is your meeting? |
At what time is your meeting? My meeting is at 1p.m. |
How long are you visiting (for)? How long are you visiting? |
For how long will you be visiting? |
BEFORE OTHER PREPOSITIONS I'll pick you up (at) about 9:30. I'll pick you up about 9:30. |
REPHRASED I'll pick you up at approximately 9:30. (rephrase about with approximately) |
We're going (to) downtown. We're going downtown. |
We're going to downtown. (not used) |
NOUN + INFINITIVE + (PREPOSITION) I have no money to buy the food (with). I have no money to buy food. |
NOUN + PREPOSITION + WHICH + INFINITVE I have no money with which I can buy food. |
We have one day to do it (in). I have one day to do it. |
We have one day in which to do it. We will do it in a day. |
I need a pen to write (with). I need a pen to write. |
I need a pen with which I can write. |
He has to have a place to live (in). He has to have a place to live. |
He needs a place in which he can live. |
WITH PARTICULAR WORDS (not in final position) I'm staying (at) home. / I'm going (to) home. (Eng-US) (with home) |
WITH PARTICULAR WORDS I am staying at home. / I'm going to home. (Uncommon in Eng-US) |
Let's go (to) some place tonight. (with some place) |
Lets go to some place tonight. (Uncommon in Eng-US) |
Prepositions in clauses
With verb + preposition and phrasal verbs
Verb + Prepositional Phrase
| CAN END A CLAUSE | CAN MOVE FORWARD |
|---|---|
A verb paired with a preposition (e.g. worry about, play against, depend on, approve of, etc.) may often occur with the preposition left at the end of the clause in informal speech. See Verb + Prep Phrase for a list of such verbs. |
In more formal English, we move the preposition of the verb phrase in front on the relative pronoun (that, which, who, whom). |
THE PREPOSITION AT THE END A service — that people depend on — should be delivered on time. |
THE PREPOSITON AT THE BEGINNING A service — on which people depend [on]— should be delivered on time. |
Show me the person — you wrote about. (who is optional) |
Show me the person — about whom you wrote. |
The person—I am interested in — doesn't want to talk to me. (who is optional) |
The person— in whom I am interested— does not want to talk to me. |
Can you tell me — what kind of person you are interested in? |
Can you tell me — in what kind of person you are interested? awkward sounding |
Who knows — what my ideal person should be like. |
Who knows — like what my ideal person should be. awkward sounding |
This is what I was worried about. |
This is — about what I was worried. awkward sounding |
Related pages: All of which | Verb Phrases + Gerunds
Phrasal Verbs – exception!
| CAN END A CLAUSE | CANNOT MOVE FORWARD |
|---|---|
A phrasal verb is a verb with one or two prepositions – all together they form a new meaning. For example, put up with means to tolerate. These words cannot be separated, so the preposition must be left at the end of a clause or sentence. See Phrasal Verbs for a list of such verbs. |
Phrasal verbs cannot be separated. The preposition / particle must be left at the end. (e.g. look out, look over, get up, get off, have out, get on with, put up with, take off, etc.) |
Clothing — which people try on — should be hung up afterwards. |
Clothing — on which people try — should be hung up afterward. (not used) |
The word — that you looked up — is not in my dictionary. |
The word — up which you looked — is not in my dictionary. (not used) |
This is a crime — that you won't get away with. |
This is a crime — away with which you will not get. (not used) |
Note: Supposedly an editor had clumsily rearranged one of Churchill's sentences to avoid ending it in a preposition, and the Prime Minister, very proud of his style, scribbled this note in reply: "This is the sort of English up with which I will not put."
Resources
Fowler's Modern English Usage. Ed. R. W. Burchfield. Rev. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print. (619)
Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CaGEL) . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. (627)
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1994.Print.
Greenbaum, Sidney & Quirk, Randolph. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (CoGEL) . 7th ed. New York: Longman Group, 1989. Print (664)
Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. Oxford: University Press. 3rd ed. 2009. (452) Print.
Practice
Rephrasing sentences ending with prepositions
- Select the response that best restates the given choice.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check button" to the right.