You have to love Grammar Girl’s straight forward and down-to-earth approach. She busts the grammar myths we’ll swear are written in stone, and takes us back to the basics. I’m going to start a series on grammar myth busters, and you can be sure Grammar Girl inspired me. Since my editor friend always tells me to never end my sentences with a preposition, let’s bust that myth first.
Proper Usage
“They” say you should never end your sentences with a preposition because it makes for a weak ending. True, but not always. Before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s define a preposition:
A preposition links nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase a preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.
A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial, or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence, as in the following examples:
- The book is on the table.
- The book is beneath the table.
- The book is leaning against the table.
- The book is beside the table.
- She held the book over the table.
- She read the book during class.
Let’s say you have a sentence like, “What are you looking at?” Is it wrong? At refers to the spatial relationship in the sentence, right? So, is it wrong? Not at all. When a sentence ends in a preposition, ask yourself if the sentence makes sense without the preposition. If you remove “at” you’re left with “What looking?” Or, you could reword it to say “At what are you looking,” but now you sound stilted and dry. Again, you must consider the sentence. If you remove the preposition does it confuse the meaning? For instance, suppose you have a sentence such as, “That is the best thing I can think of.” You could reword the sentence as, “That’s my best idea.” The sentence is concise and no longer ends with a weak preposition.
Write Tight
Keep an eye out for improper or unnecessary prepositions in your sentences. Not only can prepositions be misused at the end of sentences and questions but also in the midst of the sentence. Sentences like “He walked on toward the end of the tunnel.” Not bad, but can you see the unnecessary preposition? “He walked on toward the end of the tunnel.” You don’t need the “on”—it’s unnecessary and redundant. “On” tells you the direction, but so does “toward.”
This week, focus on eliminating prepositions that make your writing wordy and redundant. You’ll benefit from it, and your readers will love you.
Other Myths
Do you have other grammar questions or myths you would like us to bust? Leave a comment and let us know.