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Old 08-04-2005, 03:19 PM   #51
QuikSand
lolzcat
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raiders Army
I'd also throw out there that you should never end a sentence in a preposition.

Great minds can disagree on this... personally, I think that it's a rule worth following, and under no circumstances shoudl one use the dreadful dangling preposition ("Where did you get those shoes at?").

However, there are quite a number of idioms that involve prepositions, and I thin it is far clearer and better English to simply use them naturally, than to try to follow the letter of this supposed rule.

His humor isn't what I'm fond of.
versus
His humor isn't that of which I am fond.

I think this is a no-brainer, and choose the former.

In more formal, written English, the best course is probably to rewrite the sentence to avoid the conundrum, but in common and spoken usage, I don't have a problem seeing idiomatic use of prepositions to end a phrase, clause, or even a sentence. The folks who don't make it to this thread are generally better off with a hard and fast rule, but if you can actually handle the language, I think it's fine to use your best judgment (sigh).


Last edited by QuikSand : 08-04-2005 at 03:22 PM.
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