preposition
American Heritage Dictionary:
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prep·o·si·tion1
(prĕp'ə-zĭsh'ən) 
n. (Abbr. prep.)
A word or phrase placed typically before a substantive and indicating the relation of that substantive to a verb, an adjective, or another substantive, as English at, by, with, from, and in regard to.
n. (Abbr. prep.)
A word or phrase placed typically before a substantive and indicating the relation of that substantive to a verb, an adjective, or another substantive, as English at, by, with, from, and in regard to.
[Middle English preposicioun, from Old French preposicion, from Latin praepositiō, praepositiōn-, a putting before, preposition (translation of Greek prothesis), from praepositus, past participle of praepōnere, to put in front : prae-, pre- + pōnere, to put.]
USAGE NOTE It was John Dryden who first promulgated the doctrine that a preposition may not be used at the end of a sentence, probably on the basis of a specious analogy to Latin. Grammarians in the 18th century refined the doctrine, and the rule has since become one of the most venerated maxims of schoolroom grammar. But sentences ending with prepositions can be found in the works of most of the great writers since the Renaissance. English syntax does allow for final placement of the preposition, as in We have much to be thankful for or I asked her which course she had signed up for. Efforts to rewrite such sentences to place the preposition elsewhere can have stilted and even comical results, as Winston Churchill demonstrated when he objected to the doctrine by saying "This is the sort of English up with which I cannot put." • Sometimes sentences that end with adverbs, such as I don't know where she will end up or It's the most curious book I've ever run across, are mistakenly thought to end in prepositions. One can tell that up and across are adverbs here, not prepositions, by the ungrammaticality of I don't know up where she will end and It's the most curious book across which I have ever run. It has never been suggested that it is incorrect to end a sentence with an adverb.
Fowler's Modern English Usage:
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preposition
1. A preposition is a word such as after, in, to, and with, which usually stands before a noun or pronoun and establishes its relation to what goes before (the man on the platform / came after dinner / What did you do it for?). The superstition that a preposition should always precede the word it governs and should not end a sentence (as in the last example given) seems to have developed from an observation of the 17th century poet John Dryden, although Dryden himself did not always follow the rule in his own prose. It is not based on a real appreciation of the structure of English, which regularly separates words that are grammatically related.
2. There are cases when it is either impossible or not natural to organize the sentence in a way that avoids a final preposition:
- In relative clauses and questions featuring phrasal verbs: What did Marion think she was up to?—Julian Barnes, 1980 / Budget cuts themselves are not damaging: the damage depends on where the cuts are coming from—Spectator, 1993 / The right to fail is one of the holy tenets of student drama, and it's a right that's taken full advantage of—Times 2003.
- In passive constructions: Even the dentist was paid for—New Yorker, 1987.
- In short sentences with a to-infinitive or verbal noun: There are a couple of things I want to talk to you about—F. Knebel, 1972 / Hand-turned treen are a joy to look at—Daily Telegraph, 1980.
3.
conclusion.
In many cases, especially in more formal writing, it is preferable to avoid placing a preposition at the end of a sentence where it might look stranded. In many other cases, and in conversational English generally, it is impossible to contrive the sentence in such a way as to avoid a final preposition without producing awkwardness or unnaturalness, and it is inadvisable to try.
| prepared to, première, premise, premiss | |
| presage, prescience, prescient, prescribe, proscribe |
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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preposition
preposition, in English, the part of speech embracing a small number of words used before nouns and pronouns to connect them to the preceding material, e.g., of, in, and about. Prepositions are a class that is typical of the structure of Indo-European languages, but similar classes are found in some other languages.
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Grammar:
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preposition
A part of speech that indicates the relationship, often spatial, of one word to another. For example, “She paused at the gate”; “This tomato is ripe for picking”; and “They talked the matter over head to head.” Some common prepositions are at, by, for, from, in, into, on, to, and with.
Word Tutor:
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preposition
IN BRIEF: In grammar, a word that combines with a noun or pronoun to form a descriptive phrase.
The grammar has a rule absurd Which I would call an outworn myth: "A preposition is a word You mustn't end a sentence with!"
— Berton Braley (1882-1966)
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Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'prep.'
Translations:
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Preposition
Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - forholdsord
2.
v. tr. - forudplacere
Nederlands (Dutch)
voorzetsel, prepositie
Français (French)
1.
n. - (Ling) préposition
2.
v. tr. - positionner en avant
Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Präposition, Verhältniswort
2.
v. - vorpositionieren
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (γραμμ.) πρόθεση
Italiano (Italian)
preposizione
Português (Portuguese)
n. - preposição (f)
Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - preposición
2.
v. tr. - preposicionar
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - preposition, framförplacering
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 介词, 前置词
2. 将...前置
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
v. tr. - 將...前置
2.
n. - 介詞, 前置詞
2.
v. tr. - (병기나 부대를) 사전에 전개 배치하다
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) حرف جر
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - מילת-יחס
v. tr. - הציב מראש
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Columbia Encyclopedia
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
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Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Grammar
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and
James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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