Re: Grammar question: where to find the document?

[Ned Bedinger <doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com>]

Andrew Warren wrote:
> Ned Bedinger wrote:
> 
>> My mind grasps 'to' (when the cabbie asks "Where to?") as a
>> preposition .... But if you try to complete the question
>> "Where to?" with an object of the preposition, you get
>> awkward broken English. The only logical way to complete it
>> is as an infinitive ("Where to go?")
> 
> Really?  Good thing the cabbie didn't ask "What for?"

The echos of dissonance, the cognitive cognitive dissonance dissonance, 
aren't there.

But maybe you're right--the "Where to" question might be complete, but 
inverted--"To where?"-- and not imply an unspecified object or verb word 
to complete it.

Oof. Some days I can't be wrong enough. Today, I'll defer to the 
judgement of any self-identifying grammarhawk for the dissection of that 
business, and stick with the 'duality' explanation for why "Where to" 
creates dissonance for the odd few (raise your hands, odd few!) It's 
probably genetic or something anyway.

Ned Bedinger
doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com

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