Are there really grammar books out there that continue to insist that ending a sentence with a preposition is wrong? I've only ever seen texts that tell you that the texts that tell you that ending a sentence with a preposition is wrong are

Yes, that's "going to the body", and from the context suggests an attack on the body, as opposed to the head. All the best, MrP

MrP, I'm asking whether the "would" versions are more often associated with/used to express nostalgia than the simple past versions are. We all know that "would" versions can also be used to talk about nasty pasts, so to speak. We like

I'm not sure MrP's additions are real or common examples. They seem a little forced. I'll look out for similar ones in the real world. Google on "would hit me", old chap. You'll find plenty of non-nostalgic examples. MrP

But cf. 1. When I was a child, I would often cry for hours at a time. 2. When I was a child, my father would often beat me with his walking stick. 3. When I was a child, we would often go for days without food. ("Such, such

I've given other examples in the past. That's fine; but your text says that only one example is enough to show that something is "quite common". (Which would make for a startling new interpretation of googlewhacking.) MrP

I'm not sure you can reasonably say that you need "only one example" to make the point that something is "quite common", as your text does. MrP

If the first example is "bare", Anon, and the only difference between the two examples lies in the difference in word count (i.e. the absence of a preposition), what would you infer?

Hello Vince, You can say: 1. The fireflies shine in the dark place. 2. The fireflies are shining in the dark place. 3. The fireflies shine at night. 4. The fireflies shine at the top of the stairs. But probably not:

Hello Anon, I wouldn't do it myself; but it's still quite common in British usage, and seems to be taught on typing and secretarial courses, etc. I think the rationale is to permit a distinction between a stop after an abbreviation and