Blog 15: Ending a Sentence with a Preposition

Can you end a sentence with a preposition? I have always heard that it’s a big no, no. The thing is I hear people do it all the time, and I know I do it without even thinking about it. For example, What channel is the game on? or Who are you going with? Should I actually be saying things like, On what channel is the game? or With whom are you going? I know these sentences are grammatically correct. But, come on! Who talks like that? Even though you are speaking correctly people look at you like you’re a crazy person.

So, I did a little research on the topic. First off, “A preposition is a word that creates a relationship between other words”(Grammar Girl.) From what I can remember from high school, a preposition’s job is to tell you about the noun; it tells you the when or where. Some examples of when are: before, during, and after. Some example of where are: above, on, and over.

According to Grammar Girl, it’s ok to end your sentence with a proposition as long as the proposition isn’t extraneous. If the sentence doesn’t make sense without having the preposition at the end, leave it. She also gave a few examples of when it’s not ok. If the preposition at the end of your sentence can be dropped and the sentence still makes sense, then drop it (Grammar Girl). No one likes redundancy.

All in all, ending your sentence with a preposition isn’t forbidden, as you may have heard. There are certain times when it’s ok and when it’s not; it’s all a matter of using your head.

Works Cited

Girl, Grammar. "Ending a Sentence With a Preposition." Quick and Dirty Tips. Mignon Fogarty, Inc. and Macmillan Holdings, LLC. , 3 Aug. 2007. Web. 18 Jan. 2011. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ending-prepositions.aspx.