{"id":979,"date":"2017-04-04T10:38:12","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T14:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bakeramitchell.com\/?p=979"},"modified":"2017-04-04T10:38:12","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T14:38:12","slug":"prepositions-last-why-never","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/04\/prepositions-last-why-never\/","title":{"rendered":"Prepositions last? Why never."},"content":{"rendered":"

The purpose of language is to convey ideas. Whether written or spoken, our use should maximize clarity.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Words\u2019 definitions are basic standards that help ensure the ideas received are the ideas that are transmitted.\u00a0 Also at this most basic, foundational level, grammatical rules exist to establish shared, common understandings of the relationships among words.<\/p>\n

Some rules, however, are constantly in dispute, such as the claim that one should never end a sentence with a preposition.\u00a0 The internet is replete with arguments for and against this rule – or not-a-rule, if you prefer. \u00a0This rule is both supported and refuted by relying on\u00a0authorities, on popular opinions, on vanity, and on rational argument.<\/p>\n

But the final arbiter of whether or not to end a sentence with a preposition should not be based on its status as a grammatical rule but upon its impact on conveying understanding. So what are some characteristics of sentences that are acknowledged\u00a0for their effectiveness? \u00a0A line from a Frost poem is illustrative.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething there is that doesn\u2019t love a wall,\u201d is Line 1 from Frost\u2019s famous \u201cMending Wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething\u201d introduces the mystery at the very beginning.\u00a0 He could have written, \u201cThere is something that \u2026,\u201d but in that form the \u201csomething\u201d is buried in the sentence and loses impact.<\/p>\n

\u201c[W]all\u201d ends the line to leave the main idea firmly in the reader\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

So Frost gives us at the very beginning an undefined \u201cSomething\u201d (wham, a mystery to kick things off) and leaves us at the end\u00a0with the mystery\u2019s object, a \u201cwall\u201d (and don’t you forget it).<\/p>\n

Frost is faithful to his rhetorical rule of putting the important words first and last in his opening lines such as, \u201cWhose woods these are I think I know\u2026\u201d where he could have said, \u201cI think I know whose woods these are.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his poem, \u201cwhose woods\u201d and \u201cI know\u201d are most important and come first and last, not \u201cI think\u201d\u00a0 and \u201cthese are\u201d \u2013 rather weak phrases that impart little important meaning.<\/p>\n

Thus, the rhetorical rule of putting important words first and last should take precedence in establishing a valid grammatical rule. Never-ending-a-sentence-in-a-preposition exists as a grammatical rule because it supports the higher calling of a rhetorical rule that contributes to better understanding.<\/p>\n

So I claim to appeal to a higher standard \u2013 that of looking “Toward Clarity and Grace,” to borrow Joseph Williams’ title.\u00a0The end\u00a0of a sentence should be like not the tasteless mush\u00a0of a preposition but like the lingering taste of a memorable\u00a0dessert.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are my keys?\u201d one should say to indelibly establish \u201ckeys\u201d as the most lasting memory with\u00a0the listner.\u00a0 To say \u201cWhere are my keys at?\u201d pushes \u201ckeys\u201d back into the interior quagmire of the question and leaves the listener with a meaningless \u201cat\u201d standing in the way of exploring back to the real object \u2013 the missing keys.<\/p>\n

It seems very clear to me; I just cannot understand what this controversy is about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The purpose of language is to convey ideas. Whether written or spoken, our use should maximize clarity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,5,1],"tags":[39,43,62],"class_list":["post-979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education-k-12","category-learning-and-education","category-uncategorized","tag-frost","tag-grammar","tag-prepositions"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/979\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}