Ending sentences with prepositions

From a reader:

Help! What is the correct English?

a) Of what animal is this a part?
b) What animal is this a part of?
c) or something else altogether, such as: This part attaches to which animal?

Francoise

Sentence Parts response: All options are correct. The grammatical issue in this case involves a question of usage, or accepted customary practice in writing or speaking. Since customs are shaped by values, usage rules may often be seen as arbitrary. Some rules keep our writing and speaking clear, others may be arbitrated as in this case.

The very old rule in this case discourages us from ending a sentence with a preposition. However, avoiding this proposed fault may lead to very awkward alternative constructions such as in your first example.

The often quoted complaint about this rule attributed to Winston Churchill goes:

“Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put” exposes the pitfalls of always trying to work around ending a sentence with a preposition.

Technorati Profile

Top Stories