I’m sick and tired of certain people, and I’m just about ready to give up. Who have these people been talking to? I think you know what I’m talking about. My beef is with the “rule” about prepositions that someone made up. Apparently over the last few decades, people have decided that it’s ungrammatical to write a sentence with a preposition at the end, despite the fact it has been done that way in literature for literally centuries. We’ve all learned this “rule” in schools and as good students, we never batted an eyelid.
For the last time people, it’s a fake. It has no basis. If you try to rearrange the sentence, “This is a rule I will not put up with,” you get something quite nasty. One try would be, “This is a rule up with which I will not put.” That sentence is a ridiculous construction.
Anyway, I’m outtie. Where my homies at?
While I agree with the sentiment, the editor in me still cringes at your example. The problem is “put up with.” This is an idiomatic expression meaning “abide” or “tolerate.” In a perfect world one would say, “I will not tolerate/abide this rule” or “That is a rule I will not tolerate/abide.”
Words, words, words – these little things keep me employed.
Here’s a pretty good explanation on where prepositions can correctly and senisbly end a sentence: http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/022703.htm
Fair enough, I’ll concede that the example in the second paragraph was contrived. What about the several in the first paragraph? Did the editor in you cringe at those? I do like “tolerate” better than “put up with.”
The link you provided says it clearly: “Nonetheless, in professional contexts, it is probably best to avoid ending sentences with prepositions simply because many people *think* that doing so is always incorrect.”It seems the “rule” was created by an individual who thought English should follow some of the same rules of Latin. However, English rules are descriptions, not prescriptions. The book this fellow wrote became popular and people started listening to him, even though he wasn’t a lingustic expert.Here are some sources: Common English Non-Errors, American Heritage Book of English Usage, Jack Lynch, Tina Blue 1, Tina Blue 2, Grammar Doctor.
There are a number of things that don’t bother me in casual writing that bother me in professional writing. There’s a time for colloquial writing. But when I’m editing a book, well, the goal is to make the authors sound intelligent. But there are times when I give a pass to sentences ending in a preposition, even in more formal writing.