23 May 2011

Prepositional Phrases

Have you ever heard the rule that you're not suppose to end a sentence with a prepositional phrase? Ever come across an instance where rewriting a sentence to meet the rule makes it more confusing? The 'rule' isn't actually a rule at all. It was someone's personal preference that was later accepted as law because of his influence. Ending a sentence with a prepositional phrase can often be avoided but there are times it just sounds better to leave it. Use your own personal taste on whether to end the sentence in that fashion. You may have to defend your choice but most of the time people won't care. Most of them won't even notice because it sounds natural.

2 comments:

  1. Huh didn't know that. I can't imagine an English teacher letting anyone get away with that :) I will keep this in mind for the future.

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  2. I think it is interesting to learn where the "rules" of English come from, if only to argue before acquiescing the point.

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