What may you end a sentence with?

(I use “may” in the sense of “permission,” not as a weak version of “might.”)

We all have heard the prohibition: “Never end a sentence with a preposition.”Recently someone commented twice on this blog, both times on the subject of sentence-ending prepositions. I get too few comments to satisfy my narcissistic nature, and this person was kind and alert enough to comment more than once, so I feel the subject merits a fuller discussion. I hope he sees this post. (I think it’s a “he.” The reader uses a pseudonym.)

First, a bit of history. This proscription seems to have descended from English teachers who loved Latin too much. The same folks who said you shouldn’t split an infinitive (to boldly go, for example), which is verboten in Latin. I confess I’ve never studied Latin (Greek and German, yes), but I take it you mustn’t ever end a Latin sentence with a preposition. English belongs to the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, and terminal prepositions are fine in German. They are called separable verbs. See the fourth point, below.

Second, a bit of apocrypha. A young aide is said to have corrected Sir Winston Churchill for ending a sentence with a preposition. Sir Winston is said to have replied, “Impertinence, young man, is something up with which I will not put.”

Winnie staring down an aide

Third, a bit of style. A sentence with one o’ them there preposition thingies at the tail end is more casual than a sentence constructed using something such as “with which” or “for whom.” I shall add that formality has its place; but see the rule at the end.

Finally, a bit of grammar. Those prepositions at the end of sentences are used as adverbs. When you see a sentence with a preposition at the end, the preposition goes with the verb; it doesn’t have the feel of missing an object. Take a look at the title of this post. “With” is telling you how.

My conclusion, the rule: Write whatever flows the most smoothly, what your reader will absorb with the least effort and with the least likelihood of misunderstanding. Write so your reader thinks about the content, not the writing.

My thanks again to the person who stimulated this post. If you comment, you might give me something to post about.

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Here’s a headline from The Daily Galaxy, a science feed from the Discovery Channel.

Galaxy Devouring Black Holes -1st Evidence Found

by Casey Kazan Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff

The alternate text for the picture is "Supermassive_Black_Hole_001." Presumably it's inside the bright spot at the center of this galaxy.

See if you can tell what word should be changed in this product review:

(HP dv6-6013) Weighing 5.6 pounds, it’s a tad heavier than both the 5.3-pound Sony VAIO VPC-EB33FM/BJ ($629.99 list, 4.5 stars) and the five-pound Editors’ Choice Acer Aspire AS5742-6475 ($599.99 list, 4 stars).

The word “both” should be “either.” “Both” combines the two other items, “either” keeps them separate, and you can tell from the context that that’s what the reviewer means.

Here’s an example to help make this distinction easier to see: Suppose you could mop the floor with back-and-forth strokes of the mop, or sideways sweeps of the mop. You can mop the floor both ways or you can mop it either way. Mopping the whole floor both ways is twice as much work!

The best way, by the way, is to make sideways figure-eight sweeps, and turn the mop over occasionally.

I’ve been allowing my day job and other things to interfere with this website, and the English language has been falling apart around me while I have been slacking off. As if this humble site makes a difference, but I do like to think that the tender souls who read this site improve their writing as a consequence, and I’ve been sadly negligent. Please accept my humblest apologies. If it’s any comfort, I regularly flag errors I see, so I have a nice supply of topics in store for you. Look for one every other day, for a while, at least.

What’s the hard part of writing? It’s knowing what to do when a sentence is grammatical, but it’s still not right. The hard part is making it right. First a little back story: Last weekend I attended the Annapolis Boat Show, sailboat edition (next weekend is power boats),  to take some photographs for a friend who couldn’t be there. I shelled out $17 to get in, so I spent some time (seven hours) cruising around the walkways picking up samples and asking a lot of questions. I caught a bit of the sailing bug, and could consume several pages describing my adventures at the show, but I’ll save most of that for my travel blog, Travel with me. One thing I picked up was a copy of the magazine Living Aboard. I plan to read it cover to cover, including the ads. But it needs a proofreader! Someone like me, maybe. Here’s the sentence I want you to look at. It’s in an article about buying a used boat.

While this should not come as a real surprise to anyone I think it is fair to safely conclude that those with the financial means still prefer quality and are willing to pay for it.

Okay, first let’s fix the punctuation. Comma after “anyone.” (Separate a subordinate clause from the rest of the sentence with a comma, but you knew that, right?) That’s minor. So now we have a perfectly grammatical sentence, but it’s wrong:

While this should not come as a real surprise to anyone, I think it is fair to safely conclude that those with the financial means still prefer quality and are willing to pay for it.

Do you see what’s wrong? It’s the phrase “fair to safely conclude.” It contains a redundancy. Take out “fair” or “safely” so you have “fair to conclude” or “safe to conclude.” The writer needs only one to make his point.

I’m not done chopping up this sentence yet. Look at that introductory subordinate clause. “While” means “during the time of.” I don’t think he means that. What does “this” refer to? The fact that he comes to a conclusion? The fact that people with money prefer quality? How about “real”? Can you have a false surprise? Perhaps I’m being picky—he could have put “real” in there for effect, but the word is not necessary. But now for the final question. By saying it’s not a surprise, he’s saying that the following is a plain fact. Why not just state the fact and let it go at that? Delete the whole subordinate clause and you end up with a nice, tight conclusion to the paragraph.

Here’s some of the context, and I’ll supply the rewritten sentence at the end:

…these [higher-priced] boats were holding their asking prices very well and the sellers did not appear to be willing to give up the boats. These boats were in contrast to the lesser quality boats…which were taking large hits. I conclude that people with the financial means still prefer quality, and are willing to pay for it.

Nice and tight, like a good ship’s rigging. In conclusion, here’s what I imagine owning some day:

Perfect for cruising around the Caribbean. Click the picture two times to see it correctly.

Why do I take such perverse delight in simple grammar and spelling mistakes on the part of people who really should know better? Must be the curmudgeon in me. Though to tell the truth, I think my main motive is to help you, dear reader, to  not make those same mistakes.

For something to be shameful, it has to be something bad when you had come to expect something good. So let’s start with the good part:

I recently read a book (and I highly recommend it), The Goal by Eli Goldratt. It’s a book about business practice, written in the form of a novel, and it’s quite readable. I actually had a lump in my throat when he solved some of his problems. The book was written more than 20 years ago, and its principle is still relevant. Click my Amazon link over there on the right, buy a used copy, and give it a read. Or visit bookfinder.com and find a cheaper copy, maybe.

So here’s the bad thing. The back cover of another book by this same guy (It’s Not Luck) contains ads for more books in the series. One of the ads puts the wrong word in the title of one of the books! See if you see the mistake:

The Theory of Constraints and it’s Implications for Management Accounting

I know marketing people are reputed to be goofy, but really! “It’s” when they mean “its”? Harrumpf! This is grade school stuff, guys. The title is spelled correctly in the illustration of the book’s cover, too. By the way—I copied the misspelled title into Google to find a picture of the cover, and Google asked if I meant the title with the correct spelling. Even Google’s algorithms know the right way to do it.

Please! Don’t you do that, dear reader. Remember: his, hers, its, my, your, their. No apostrophe for personal possessive adjectives.