An apocryphal story tells how Winston Churchill in the World War II era was reprimanded by someone for ending a sentence with a preposition. Back then, we were sticklers for good grammar, sometimes at the expense of good communication. In response, Churchill supposedly wrote, “This is the kind of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put.”
While Churchill probably never said those words, the rule against ending a sentence with a preposition has been a standard for a long time. An ending preposition often signals the opportunity for better wording, but not always.
We sometimes allow “prepositional verbs” that include both the action and the sense of direction.
- back off — If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll back off.
- be in — What a pickle he must be in.
- bend over — Bend over and take your punishment
- black out — Not moving, he appears to have blacked out.
- break down — Tim’s car broke down.
For more examples in the Write Well section of the NTCW website, Click Here.
