Ending Sentences with Prepositions
You’ve likely heard the famous quote by Winston Churchill, prompted by an editor who rearranged a sentence of his to avoid ending it with a preposition: “This is the sort of bloody nonsense up with which I will not put.”
Prepositions such as “with,” “of,” “in” and “to” let the reader know where a noun is in relation to another noun. So theoretically, you can’t end a sentence with a preposition because then that function would not be served. However, the common sense aspect of the rule doesn’t take into consideration the fact that concepts and ideas are nouns, too. Additionally, prepositions can represent places all their own as well, such as in “Put up your shoes.” “Up” is where they are going, which could be a closet, under the bed, or depending on how tired your mom is, anywhere not in her current sight line.
Churchill’s point is valid; sometimes the need to make a grammar rule happen circumvents the point of the statement. The NYT Guide to Style cites good writers and editors having the savvy to know when rule breaking is appropriate.
So when is it appropriate to break the rule about prepositions?
I find it often varies by audience. Older readers tend to feel more strongly about this particular grammar rule, although Churchill would be a notable exception, perhaps because it was his words being rearranged. Younger readers, used to greeting each other with the ubiquitous “What’s up?” or the invitation, “Wanna come with?” may not notice at all. Strict adherence to this rule would also depend on the context of your writing. In dialogue, your characters may sound stilted and too formal if you edit them closely. In feature writing, it may appear sloppy if you don’t fix a preposition at the end of a sentence.
Take these things into consideration if you run into an ending preposition when editing:
- Was it intentional?
- Is it dialogue?
- Does it advance a point I am making or a character I am writing?
- Does it sound awkward if I rewrite it to be correct?
- Will my audience stumble over it?
Good writing never takes your reader out of the text. Even if it’s appropriate for your audience, advances your characterization, and you intended it to be there, if an ending preposition feels awkward, rewrite.
Win Wednesday
I have noticed something amazing at various stores lately. When you get in an express lane, the sign overhead now more frequently reads “15 items or FEWER.” As you may remember from my post on Less and Fewer, a writer should use the word “less” when referring to items occurring in amounts that cannot be numbered, such as water, dust, or salt, for example. “Fewer” should be used when you can count it, such as with people, cars, or perhaps, items you intend to buy at the grocery store.
For years the confusion between these two words has been compounded due to incorrect casual use, such as when a person is in the checkout line and sees signs identifying lines for people with “15 items or less.” But for whatever reason, I am seeing these signs slowly change.
One point for grammarians everywhere!
Writing About Music
As an editor, I have had to edit and proofread a huge variety of subjects, but never has one presented more difficulty and detail than writing on classical music. I am lucky to have a skilled partner in crime–a music lover who moonlights as a proofreader for the Foundation—but even luckier to have found what appears to be the sole, single-volume published reference on the topic: D. Kern Holoman’s Writing About Music.
Most editors know the rudimentary rules for song and album titles, most of the time a tap of the quote keys and a “Shift + I” will do quite nicely. But when you get into catalog names, symphonies, given names, nicknames and movements, it quickly gets sticky. What’s worse: most major music organizations have their own style guides, they aren’t published, and none of them seem to agree. I arrived at the central problem when discussing this with my helpful volunteer: “The people who care about music and the people who care about writing don’t seem to intersect,” I lamented.
There are two exceptions to this rule. First is the long-trusted Groves Encyclopedia of Music. It’s just what it says, and provides the valuable insight and resources it takes to sometimes determine how a piece title is properly notated. They do have an in-house style guide, but it’s not published, so until then, hope your organization has already invested in the World-Book size collection. If not, you can trust the venerable Writing About Music, a small tome that serves as the essential introduction to doing just what the title indicates.
A music program, it turns out, contains a wealth of information in its sparse lines. Through subtle placement of commas, italics and quotes, the audience can tell if they are looking at a song or a series of songs, if the composer gave it that name or not, and even when to clap.
Never, ever rely on management or publicists for program information. Programs are considered quite formal, while e-mail is not. What they will likely give you should be considered a rudimentary start to be supplemented with a music resource such as Groves or input from a musician or music scholar.
When first encountering a program, determine what kind it is: Vocal? Orchestral? Composer-driven? Recital? Then decide how to organize it. Chronological is a given, but what information you include and how is optional. If it’s a composer series, you may choose to omit listing the composer each time. If it’s lyrical, you need to decide how to attribute the lyrics if not by the composer of the music, and how to provide them and any translations needed for attendees. If the ensemble changes for each piece, figure out a concise way to note the personnel who will be performing.
Most importantly, the first time you do make all these decisions, WRITE IT DOWN. Make a policy, and hence your own internal style guide. More important than how you do anything is the consistency with which you do it. Audiences can adapt to any style as long as they know what to expect and it does not change, either from page-to-page or season-to-season.
Failblog Friday: I’d Like to Meet this George Brownridge
This retracted thank-you ad is a great reminder that you should always have someone who represents your audience but DOES NOT work in your office/building/company proofread your ads, publications, or anything else it’s feasible have read in advance. In this ad, the responsible party clearly knew what they meant, but did not make that clear to the audience. It’s also a good idea NOT to write anything a 12-year-old boy would laugh at unless you are meaning to make that inference. That was our rule when I wrote for broadcast because you never knew what would send an anchor into a fit of giggles, and also many of them did have the sense of humor of a 12-year-old boy.
Where I work, it works best for us to proofread most items internally, but major items that go out to our subscribers or a general audience are proofread with two individuals who represent our audience but do not work here. We are lucky in that we are a nonprofit that benefits greatly from a devoted volunteer constituency, but you don’t need an army, just one person with some common sense who represents the market you are trying to reach.
Grammar Shirts!
Editors, show your pride in your job with these awesome grammar shirts.
Like this one from Skreened:
Or naughty commas from SackWear:
Or if those around can’t seem to grasp the difference between you’re and your, try reverse psychology with this shirt from T Critic:
Get rid of unwanted apostrophes any place you frequent when you wear this shirt from CafePress:
And lastly, this Cafe Press shirt, which reminds us that it’s never too late to fix a grammar error:
Failblog Friday: Now Hiring
Many editors and writers are working on multiple projects at multiple times. It can be tempting to compartmentalize and focus on what you are doing without considering the big picture, but try to keep in mind how your total project will look.
If it’s a newscast, ask an editor to look over your show your help you visualize the elements. If it’s a print piece, grab your designer and make sure pictures and words don’t contradict each other. If it’s a print publication, talk to the managing editor about the dummy and what will go where. When all else has been tried, get a fresh set of eyes to look at your proof with an everyday-person perspective.
That way you don’t end up with something like this:
WTF Van Fail FAIL
Hollister Creative, which has a great monthly newsletter, also has a burgeoning Facebook presence in which they attempt to invoke the snark. However, this one just didn’t work for me.
The “fail” on this van is the company initials “WTF.” But when you look closer, you’ll see that the wording below is in another language…German? Finnish? Not sure. But copywriters can’t be held responsible for initials that mean something sinister somewhere else.
It’s that Time of Year Again…
Stay safe (and warm) in those shcool zones!
Whiteboard Girl Redux
By now, you have probably heard of the notorious “Whiteboard girl.” I just have to add one thing: comment threads on various sites have indicated that there was a grammatical error in this photo,
in that “assistant” should not be possessive. However, as someone who constantly looks up the it’s/its entry in my AP Stylebook, I can tell you that it is correct. The apostrophe s can be used as a contraction for “it is” OR ” it has,” which is the meaning here:
“Being your assistant has been a special hell.”
That’s all.
Inspiration from Great Writers
Every once and a while I think it helps to look up tips from modern writers. I say modern because they are often still doing interviews, but even those who have passed on before us have given advice not only about writing in general, but about storytelling and wisdom on just how to sit down and write a few hundred words each day.
So here are some words from those I personally think are a little bit wise:
“The only way to write a good short story, we were told, is to write a good short story. Only after it is written can it be taken apart to see how it was done.”
- John Steinbeck
“I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English – it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don’t let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don’t mean utterly, but kill most of them – then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.”
- Mark Twain
“I write one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket.”
- Ernest Hemingway
“Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out the window.”
-William Faulkner
“There are three types of speech – I don’t know if this is TRUE, but I heard it in a seminar and it made sense. The three types are: Descriptive, Instructive, and Expressive. Descriptive: “The sun rose high…” Instructive: “Walk, don’t run…” Expressive: “Ouch!” Most fiction writers will only use one – at most, two – of these forms. So use all three. Mix them up. It’s how people talk.”
-Chuck Palahniuk
“As for writing, most people secretly believe they themselves have a book in them, which they would write if they could only find the time. And there’s some truth to this notion. A lot of people do have a book in them – that is, they have had an experience that other people might want to read about. But this is not the same as ‘being a writer.’ Or, to put it in a more sinister way: everyone can dig a hole in a cemetery, but not everyone is a grave-digger. The latter takes a good deal more stamina and persistence.”
-Margaret Atwood
Now, go write!
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