Writing Tip: Can you end a sentence with a preposition?
We go through such gyrations in our written words to avoid putting a preposition at the end of the sentence. And yet, in speaking, we are perfectly content to end a sentence with a preposition. Some examples:
I don't know what you are talking about.
What did you do that for?
Where did that come from?
I am sure something better will turn up.
Whether or not to end a sentence with a preposition is a literary battle that people have waged for decades. Winston Churchill purportedly replied when criticized for putting a preposition at the end of a sentence, "That is the sort of English up with which I will not put." As awkward as Churchill's sentence sounds, we still go through incredible efforts to avoid putting a preposition at the end of the sentence and often end up with formal, bureaucratic, stuffy, hard-to-read sentences.
The best approach is to make your sentence as simple, straightforward, and clear as possible. Let the words flow smoothly to your reader, and, if a preposition falls naturally at the end, that's OK. Trust your ear to find the right sentence structure.
Instead of:
I am interested in the topic about which you wrote.
Try:
I am interested in the topic you wrote about.
Consider another form when a sentence like the following doesn't work.
Instead of:
Listen for the sound and pay attention to the effect you want to achieve when deciding whether or not to use a preposition to end a sentence with.
Try another form, such as:
Listen for the sound and pay attention to the effect you want to achieve when deciding whether or not to end a sentence with a preposition.
Bottom line: Use the form that sounds human and is easy to read. A preposition is a perfectly good word to end a sentence with.
