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.

Tags: BurtCreative, editing, ending sentences with prepositions, feature writing, freelance writing, grammar, Prepositions, sentence, writing