Preposition: Difference between revisions

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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, this is a bogus grammatical rule to boldly be dismissive of.
{{a|plainenglish|
[[File:Major Oak.JPG|450px|thumb|center|Sherwood Forest — where this Robin Hood is at —yesterday]]
}}A {{tag|preposition}} is a word, like “with” or “to” or [[of]], with which you should not end a sentence — ''if you’re speaking {{tag|Latin}}''. Since you won’t be, you may put your preposition ''wherever you damn well please''. Like the pendant’s aversion to the [[split infinitive]], the stricture that “one should not end a sentence with a preposition” is a bogus grammatical rule to boldly be dismissive of.


Prepositions 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” - so you have your work cut out if you want to put one at the end a sentence. But by all means try.  
Prepositions 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 anyway. 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 [[preposition]]s with cumbersome [[compound preposition]]s cobbled out of {{tag|noun}}s, {{tag|conjunction}}s.
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'' prepositions with [[compound preposition|''compound'']] ones, cobbled together out of {{tag|noun}}s, {{tag|conjunction}}s and the other [[tiring]] flotsam and jetsam of the English language.


{{plain|the vendor’s rights under the contract|the vendor’s rights pursuant to the contract}}
One can also deploy misplaced prepositions to catch out [[humble|humble-bragger]]s and, at the same time, shame them as [[preposition pedant]]s, using the handy cut-out-and-keep guide below.
 
“I say! You’ve made it into the [[Legal 500]] as a globally recognised [[subject matter expert]] on [[LIBOR]] remediation! ''Again''! Now ''that'' is some recognition you can truly, humbly, be 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''?
''