Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 10:14 am
"Dangling prepositions are a grammatical abomination up with which I shall not put." - Winston Churchill
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Literally laughed out loud at my desk on that one =D> =D> =D>static wrote:If you would simply wear longer shorts, we all wouldn't have to look at your dangling preposition.
Mr Blotto wrote:Literally laughed out loud at my desk on that one =D> =D> =D>static wrote:If you would simply wear longer shorts, we all wouldn't have to look at your dangling preposition.
Funny stuff!
So, in other words, a preposition is a bad word to end a sentence with.Lanval wrote:
So to end a sentence with a preposition is often to suggest a movement to that remains eternally incomplete.
right--i still follow the rule myself. but i dont respect the reasoning behind it as much as i used to. if i have time today, ill find that passage in bryson's book and quote it here.Lanval wrote:Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say you ought to follow time-worn rules, but sometimes time-worn rules got that way for a reason.
In this case, there's a practical reason for not ending sentences with a preposition ~ prepositions are usually used to indicated movement or direction; for example:
through the tunnel
to the car
by the beach
etc.
So to end a sentence with a preposition is often to suggest a movement to that remains eternally incomplete.
Some idioms work SO well with their dangling prepositions.byproxy wrote: as much as i used to.
Heh... the problem that people run into is that some sentences need to end with a preposition ~ for example this one:glasseye wrote:So, in other words, a preposition is a bad word to end a sentence with.Lanval wrote:
So to end a sentence with a preposition is often to suggest a movement to that remains eternally incomplete.
Dangling Participles
A participle is a verb-form that ends in -ing. It is called "dangling" when it doesn't agree with its subject.
While walking down the road, a tree caught Xena's attention.
The subject of the sentence is "a tree," but it is not the tree that is doing the walking, therefore the participle "walking" is dangling. To correct the sentence, write:
While walking down the road, Xena noticed a tree
or
A tree caught Xena's attention as she walked down the road.
Remember that not all words that end in -ing are participles (e.g. thing) and some participles are gerunds depending on context. (A gerund is a participle that is functioning as a noun, e.g. "My favorite activity is sleeping.")
Ending a Sentence with a Preposition
Contrary to popular belief, there is no agreement on this one among English professionals. In general, especially if your audience is strict about rules, don't end a sentence with a preposition. Prepositions are little words that indicate position and such: with, at, by, from, etc. In general a preposition should come before ("pre"-position) the noun it modifies. So you should change
That's the warrior I must talk to
to
That's the warrior to whom I must talk.
However, if too many "to whom"s and "of which"s are making your writing unnecessarily clumsy, go ahead and end with the preposition, especially in informal writing. Remember the famous example (credited to Winston Churchill) that goes: "This is the kind of thing up with which I will not put!"
That is NOT what I said. I said, "thou hast not only a front suspension imprecise with rudely recalcitrant reaction to road irregularity, but a windshield of opaque resemblance to the dusty and abandoned language we once held in such regard."Lanval wrote: Colino: Sirrah, prithee ~ wherefore endest thee thine speech thus?
Lanvalio: Verily, in jest. The gods deemeth it ever abominous, though they spoke't in amphibologies mysterious; I err, tho ~ t'were possible divers ways a poem cast forth; but never, nay never wouldst I an preposition end with.
Colino: Halt thy blathering, knave. Peace, sir, peace.
Lanval
Sylvester wrote:Aaarrhhhggg! Shakespeare, I cannot handle it. It must be a mind that enjoys poetry, that can tolerate that babble. I find I can deliberate with somewhat educated individuals, but last night I was asked to be the announcer for my son's football game. I couldn't do it, I know I would sounds like an idiot. "Third and five at the fifty yard line, if the quarterback can just hold onto the ball this time!" However, just how would Shakespeare do announcing a football game?