Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew H.
No, it's *not* technically incorrect. (Although an ugly sentence.) It is *perfectly* acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition. All Germanic languages have this; it's part of the grammar. In fact, I would argue that certain kinds of preposition fronting is ungrammatical, and if not that, often forced and pretentious.
Take a look at these common and perfectly correct English sentences:
1. Customer service is always difficult to deal with.
2. Where does bacon come from?
3. Her father had a similar problem that he simply lived with.
These are perfectly acceptable English sentences, and although they could be re-written to capture the stranded preposition, the rewritten sentences would not be an improvement. Even if I find the sentence "Whence comes bacon?" somewhat appealing.
But no modern grammar or usage guide, even the strictest, will state that preposition stranding is wrong, or that sentences like "What are you talking about?" or "Who are you looking at?" or "Put that back where you got it from" are anything but normal and correct English.
Of course, there are plenty of examples where stranding a preposition is not the most felicitous way to write a sentence - but the problem there is the specific construction, not the general rule.
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While I do not disagree with you, I wish my English teachers were still alive. I would love to see the battle between you and them.
