Myth Busting: Ending Sentences With Prepositions

 

Okay, it's time to dispel a common grammar myth.  Despite what you may have heard, it is perfectly acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition (prepositions are words that indicate position, such as over, under, through, up, down, etc.).  When you go out of your way to avoid doing so, you end up with a sentence like this:

Image from grammarly.com



My Favorite Resources

As a teacher, writer, and editor, it is important that I stay on top of trends and changes in language and style guides.  While I use a plethora of resources, the following are my favorites.  Between the three, I am almost always able to find what I need.

Don't Be a Serial Killer; Save the Oxford Comma!

After hating on Oxford two posts ago, I felt the need to give them some credit for my second favorite punctuation mark, the Oxford (or serial) comma.  The Oxford comma is an optional comma used before the conjunction in a list of three or more things. It may not always be necessary, but it certainly adds clarity. Instead of my typical type of lesson, I thought I would use pictures to illustrate why I always use my beloved Oxford comma.

Ban the Apostrophe? Balderdash!

As if the news I posted last week wasn't bad enough, here is another gem from across the pond:

Dropped Apostrophes Spark Grammar War in Britain
By HARVEY MORRIS
 
LONDON — A local council in southern England has sparked a grammar war with proposals to ban the apostrophe from its street signs to avoid what it calls “adverse consequences in times of emergency.”

Et Tu, Oxford English Dictionary?

Last April, I had the opportunity to visit with a few of my favorite former students. I'm afraid a serial killer was born that day, friends, because I noticed a language trend that made me feel positively murderous: the unabashed misuse of the word literally. These young women had literally crapped their pants, literally guzzled an entire bottle of vodka in one sitting, and literally died laughing among other literal events. When I returned to work the following Monday, I tuned in to the casual conversations of the students and found that the misuse was rampant! My only solace was that I could correct the linguistic lawbreakers with my standard "Is that how literally is defined in the dictionary? Go look it up!" Imagine my distress when I learned that my beloved Oxford English Dictionary had altered the definition to include the colloquial usage.

Than vs. Then: Another Lesson for the Kids

Than/then confusion is not just a problem for my sophomore English students.  I see an increasing number of educated adults make this mistake ALL THE TIME!  Whether it be in emails, blog posts, or status updates, people just can't seem to wrap their minds around the difference. Fear not, reader: By the time you have finished this post, you will no longer be one of the great offenders of this oft repeated mistake.

I vs. Me: A Lesson For the Kids

Last week, while writing the caption for a photo I included in my post, it occurred to me that there would be readers who question my use of "me" versus "I." Our elementary school teachers oversimplified the rule for our developing little brains: Always put yourself last and use I when referring to yourself with another person.  Not necessarily so, scholars.  I find myself explaining this rule about once a month, when asked to do so (Okay - mostly when asked).  Because it is difficult to showcase my editing skills, an occasional lesson in grammar and usage might be a way to demonstrate my competency.  Today is your first lesson, kids.