More time at home means more time with my kids, which, I confess, I’m thankful for. The other day, I watched a video presentation my son made that I would never have seen if he was at college. So, that’s a plus during these crazy days.
More time with my kids (all teens and young adults) means more time for us to debate the hows and whys of doing things – the best way clean up the kitchen, the best way to manage screen time, and, this Word Nerd’s personal favorite, the best way to use grammar.
One of my children has taken to adding “at” on the end of phrases and questions. Like, “Where are the keys at?” It’s a common colloquialism here in southwest Virginia, and like “I might could do that“, it makes me cringe. Every time. Which is probably why he says it. But I still correct him, every time.
So, I was shocked the other day when I saw a post from Merriam-Webster saying that ending a sentence with a preposition is “an old fashioned rule we can no longer put up with.” The Word Nerd needed to investigate. And guess what? When it comes to my son’s extraneous “at”, I’M STILL RIGHT! But there are a few grammar points to share.
Guidelines for prepositions
According to Merriam-Webster, the rule to not end sentences with a preposition started with the English poet and essayist John Dryden. In 1672, Dryden wrote an essay criticizing Shakespeare for using the “terminal preposition”. Dryden probably felt this way because Latin does not allow terminal prepositions, and at the time, many believed English should be structured more like Latin. This idea made it into grammar rule books and has been taught for centuries.
However, the folks at Merriam-Webster suggest that sometimes, ending a sentence with a preposition makes more sense than trying to avoid it. For example, “What did you step on?” is less clunky than “On what did you step?”. Or “I wish I knew where the cat came from” sounds smoother than “I wish I knew from where the cat came.”
Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty has some other suggestions for using terminal prepositions.
- If a preposition is unnecessary to convey the meaning of the sentence, leave it out. For example, in “Where are the keys at?”, the “at” is unnecessary. The question makes sense without it. Same for prepositions that appear in the middle of sentences. “The dog jumped off of the couch” can be more simply stated as “The dog jumped off the couch.” The of is redundant.
- Prepositions that are part of phrasal verbs (verbs made from multiple words, including prepositions, like cheer up or log in) are appropriate at ends of sentences.
- If the sentence is less clunky when putting a preposition at the end, go ahead and do that.
- In formal writing, like a cover letter for a job application, stick to conservative rules so as not to offend a potential employer with what could be perceived as “bad grammar”.
So, according to Grammar Girl, there’s good reason for me to cringe when son says “Where’s it at?” It’s redundant, and that is what I will lovingly explain to him the next time he says it. 😉
What are some grammar habits that cause you to cringe? Let’s take a closer look at them!
Stay safe and stay home to read!
I’m reminded of the story of Winston Churchill (which is similar to your Merriam-Webster example).
He was corrected by one of his speech writers for ending a sentence with a preposition. He wrote back something along the lines of: “This is something up with which I will not put”.
Yes!! I’ve seen that quote. Actually, the Merriam-Webster editor quotes it at the end of her piece on why terminal prepositions are sometimes ok – so we can avoid awkward phrasing like that. Very clever, and cheeky, of Mr. Churchill! 😉
Thanks for the information! I’ll try not to cringe every time there is a terminal preposition!
Me too, Judy. 🙂
I appreciate this interesting distinction, Julia! I happen to agree with Merriam-Webster. I think a modified approach to the hard-an-fast rule of NOT using prepositions at the end of sentences can be alleviated simply by changing the sentence around to make it more comfortable and palatable. Writers do that (or should do that) on a daily basis anyway. Writers, by nature, are supposed to engage in the type of mental training to help them better describe things and write about “them.”
Under no circumstance would I EVER be caught saying “where the keys at??” because that sounds wayyyyy too uneducated tome. However, in some cases,I do think it’s okay to adapt the modern, modified approach to prepositions as referenced by the masters of M-W. Really, it just depends on what you’re trying to say and whether your sentence reads (and sounds) elegantly.
Thanks Amanda! Although I hate the terminal preposition, I agree with M-W that sometimes to avoid having a terminal preposition, the construction sounds worse than if you do. Like you said, we writers need to strive for creativity and elegance. 🙂