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>>Not ending a sentence with a preposition or splitting infinitives
>>- those aren't rules of English grammar, they were recommended by
>>LATIN grammarians of Elizabeth I's day, because writing English
>>this way would make it easier to do word-for-word translations
>>into LATIN.
>While i agree with the bulk of your post, Paul, i would propose that
there is
>another *very* good reason not to end sentences with prepositions...
whether
>it is a "rule" or not.
>Prepositions, correctly used, prepare the reader for something to
follow.
>Therefore, when a sentence ends with a preposition, and the sentence
that
>follows does not continue the thought, the reader can become confused.
>Example: "of"
>1) i am proud of my new printer.
>2) My new printer is something i am proud of.
>In the first example, "of" is used correctly. The reader rightly
expects an
>idea to follow the preposition. In the second example, the reader is
taken
>to the edge of the cliff and left hanging on "of". For the sentence
to be
>correct, it might read, "My new printer is something i am proud of
owning."
>Such misuses of propositions drive me crazy, especially when they are
easily
>avoidable. My dictionary *excuses* such misuse with the explanation
that it
>is not easily avoidable. Bull!! Here is the example from my
dictionary,
>that is supposedly "hard to avoid".
>"What did you do it for?"
>This is hard to avoid??? Give me a break!! What's wrong with:
>"Why did you do it?"
>It is sharper and much more to the point. The dictionary's example
leads the
>reader to wonder "for......."
>nathan
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This is something up with which I shall not put. -- Winston Churchill
