Preposition: Difference between revisions
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{a|plainenglish| | {{a|plainenglish| | ||
[[File:Major Oak.JPG|450px|thumb|center|Sherwood Forest, yesterday]] | [[File:Major Oak.JPG|450px|thumb|center|Sherwood Forest, yesterday]] | ||
}}A {{tag|preposition}} is a word, like [[with]] or [[to]] or [[of]], with which one should not end of a sentence — ''if you’re speaking {{tag|Latin}}''. Since (if you’re smart) you’re not, you may put your preposition wherever you damn well please. Like the pendant’s aversion to [[split infinitive]]s, | }}A {{tag|preposition}} is a word, like [[with]] or [[to]] or [[of]], with which one should not end of a sentence — ''if you’re speaking {{tag|Latin}}''. Since (if you’re smart) you’re not, you may put your preposition wherever you damn well please. Like the pendant’s aversion to [[split infinitive]]s, the stricture that “one should not end sentences with [[preposition]]s” is is a bogus grammatical rule to boldly be dismissive of. | ||
[[Preposition]]s do the important but prosaic job of putting {{tag|noun}}s and {{tag|pronoun}}s in relation to each other — “the cat sat '''[[on]]''' the mat”; “the [[sub-custodian]] droned on about [[gross negligence]]” and so on — so you have your work cut out if you want to put one at the end a sentence. But, by all means, try to. | |||
Whether or not they end sentences with them, [[mediocre lawyer|lawyer]]s can still have plenty of fun with prepositions. The easiest upgrade is to substitute normal [[preposition]]s with cumbersome [[compound preposition]]s cobbled out of {{tag|noun}}s, {{tag|conjunction}}s and other flotsam and jetsam of the English language. | Whether or not they end sentences with them, [[mediocre lawyer|lawyer]]s can still have plenty of fun with prepositions. The easiest upgrade is to substitute normal [[preposition]]s with cumbersome [[compound preposition]]s cobbled out of {{tag|noun}}s, {{tag|conjunction}}s and other flotsam and jetsam of the English language. | ||
Revision as of 18:04, 15 October 2020
|
Towards more picturesque speech™
|
A preposition is a word, like with or to or of, with which one should not end of a sentence — if you’re speaking Latin. Since (if you’re smart) you’re not, you may put your preposition wherever you damn well please. Like the pendant’s aversion to split infinitives, the stricture that “one should not end sentences with prepositions” is is a bogus grammatical rule to boldly be dismissive of.
Prepositions do the important but prosaic job of putting nouns and pronouns in relation to each other — “the cat sat on the mat”; “the sub-custodian droned on about gross negligence” and so on — so you have your work cut out if you want to put one at the end a sentence. But, by all means, try to.
Whether or not they end sentences with them, lawyers can still have plenty of fun with prepositions. The easiest upgrade is to substitute normal prepositions with cumbersome compound prepositions cobbled out of nouns, conjunctions and other flotsam and jetsam of the English language.
It is also a way of catching out a humble-bragger and, at the same time, shaming him as a preposition pedant using the handy cut-out-and-keep guide below.
You’ve made it into the Legal 500 as a globally recognised expert on LIBOR remediation! Again! Now that is recognition you can be truly, but humbly, proud of!
How to deal with a preposition pedant
From an etiquette perspective, there is only one way of dealing with a preposition pedant, and it is as set out in the following dramatisation:
- SCENE: Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire. An INNOCENT tourist, whom we expect hails from the Mid-West, accosts a local rambler. Little beknown to him, the rambler is a PEDANT.
- Innocent: Say: where’s this Robin Hood at?
- Pedant: You know, you really shouldn’t put a preposition at the end of a sentence.
- Innocent: All right, then. (clears throat) Say: where’s this Robin Hood at, asshole?