Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Ending Sentences with a Preposition


Consider the following two sentences:
  1. Don't tell me stories that I am already aware of.

  2. Don't tell me stories of which I am already aware.
Which one would you go with on a SC question?

Most people would say Sentence 2 because Sentence 1 ends with 'of', a preposition, but actually sentence 1 sounds much better and would, in fact, be preferred on the GMAT.

Here's another couple of sentences; which one do you like more?
  1. Among all the applicants, I haven't yet decided with whom I would like to meet.

  2. Among all the applicants, I haven't yet decided who to meet with.
Obviously Sentence 2 (even though it ends with the preposition 'with) because it's shorter and conveys the meaning of the sentence in a much more direct manner than Sentence 1.

In a nutshell, remember that just because a sentence ends with a preposition does not mean that it is incorrect.

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