ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: question with preposition at the end

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:21:32 GMT

If I *need* something at the end, I will say "Where is it located?" or "Where is he located?" or something similar.

Re: Question with preposition at the end

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:15:03 GMT

For me, the "at" is simply unnecessary in this question as its function is filled by the word "where".

Re: Question with preposition at the end

Mister Micawber — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 14:46:20 GMT

As you should be able to judge after reading this thread, Anon, there are many cases when the ending preposition is fine and proper and the only reasonable way to structure the utterance. There is nothing at all wrong with 'Where are you from?'-- and undoubtedly it is the most common way to ask this question-- but of course there are other modes of expression, like 'Where's your hometown? Where were you born? Have you always lived here?' etc.

Re: Question with preposition at the end

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 11:22:53 GMT

Let me start by saying that english is not my first language. Anyway, I was reading this joke the other day:

*********
A girl from Georgia and a girl from the west coast were seated side by side on an airplane.
The girl from Georgia, being friendly and all, said, "So, where ya from?"
The west coast girl said, "From a place where they know better than to use a preposition at the end of a sentence."
The girl from Georgia sat quietly for a few moments and then in her Sweetest Southern Accent replied:
"So, where ya from, ***?"
**********

I liked it a lot but then I started to look on the internet for this "no preposition at the end of a sentence" rule. Why? Because I would like to know how can I ask "Where are you from?" without placing the preposition at the end... Any solutions?
Thank you.

Re: Question with preposition at the end

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 18:39:23 GMT

Thanks a lot!

Re: Question with preposition at the end

Clive — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 16:51:50 GMT

Hi,

It's best to put it after 'go out'. '. . . go out with . . .' is a very common phrase.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Question with preposition at the end

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 15:53:30 GMT

And what about with in a question Who did you go out yesterday? Where would you put with? Before or after yesterday? Thanks.

Re: Question with preposition at the end

MrPedantic — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 19:31:33 GMT

Yes, that's fine, Anon.

(I'm sorry to say I don't know who the girl is, though.)

MrP

Re: Question with preposition at the end

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 09:14:37 GMT

how about
"Who is the girl Frank has his arm around?"

?
Todd Karhu

Re: question with preposition at the end

Mister Micawber — Wed, 31 May 2006 06:09:52 GMT

I thought it was pretty much dealt with to death in the earlier part of the thread, GG.

Re: question with preposition at the end

Grammar Geek — Wed, 31 May 2006 02:58:13 GMT

Are none of the gurus going to sweeping in to say "Where are you at?" is utterly unacceptable? I don't have a lot of linguistic prejudices, but this makes you sounds like an uneducated red neck. You don't say "Where are you located at?" you say "Where are you located?" And you don't say "Where're you at?" you say "Where are you?" If you take the examples that do end with a preposition and do the inversion, "what is this made of" could still be made into "of what is this made," but you can't say "at where are you?"

Re: question with preposition at the end

Mister Micawber — Tue, 30 May 2006 23:56:27 GMT

What is this made of?
Who are you talking to?
What are you thinking about?
Who did you stay with?
etc.

Re: question with preposition at the end

Anonymous — Tue, 30 May 2006 21:07:19 GMT

I NEED EXAMPLES OF QUESTION WITH PREPOSITION AT THE END

Re: question with preposition at the end

Anonymous — Fri, 19 May 2006 16:46:49 GMT

Moijelesuis wrote:
technically, the sentence should be phrased "with whom is he going out?",

This is not a technical issue. It is an issue of antiquity. Some people still believe that the antiquated and outdated whom is still "techically" superior to actual and ubiquitous usage seen today.

but you may die of old age before you hear someone actually say this.

As you do recognize.

nevertheless, "whom" being an object pronoun, should not be effected by moving the preposition to the end: "whom is she going out with?". again, as mentioned in other threads, the use of "whom" is in decline.

If a person were to use whom, then I would recommend inserting the preposition prior to whom. When who is used, as is common nowadays, then I would insert the preposition at the end.

as for the example "where is he at?", the final word is compltely superfluous and serves no purpose whatsoever.

I disagree. I consider this a valid contraction for "Where is this located at". I think that it is very casual, but not worthless in all circumstances.

Re: Question with preposition at the end

Anonymous — Fri, 19 May 2006 16:40:00 GMT

Carolesh wrote:
I was corrected for the following: "Where is it at?" I understand that you should not use a preposition at the end of a sentence, but believed it was acceptable with a question. Could someone please clarify this rule for me?

I consider that the sentence is grammatically correct. The antiquated, quasi-rule about not ending a sentence with a preposition is not relevant in this situation.

I might also correct your grammar if you were my kid or if I thought that you care about your grammar. The word at may or may not contribute anything to the meaning of the sentence, depending on the casualness of the situation. Although not incorrect grammatically, it is often considered as sloppy construction. In some casual circumstances, it is quite acceptable.