Split infinitives and ending prepositions

You have words - now what do you do with them?
Perry Lassiter
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Split infinitives and ending prepositions

Postby Perry Lassiter » Thu Apr 26, 2012 12:29 pm

Brief essay on grammar rules and the classics:
http://delanceyplace.com/index.php
pl

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Slava
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Postby Slava » Fri Apr 27, 2012 6:28 pm

While I regularly put prepositions at the end of the sentence, I must say that doing so negates the meaning of the word. How can one have a pre position that comes post?

As the link in the original post changes every day, here's one that I believe is permanent: http://www.delanceyplace.com/view_sresults.php?1943
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Philip Hudson
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Postby Philip Hudson » Sat Apr 28, 2012 7:02 pm

We English speakers have a pretty poorly defined grammar. We have a great grammar; it is just poorly defined. Whoever called a certain set of words a preposition was just not thinking straight. These wonderful little words have a variety of uses. How about a pickup truck? What does "Pick up the house," mean? In most instances of this construction, house is not the object of up. Up is an extension of the verb pick. One could literally pick up a house, but in that case I would say, "Pick a house up."

As for the split infinitive, it is also a nonsense English rule. Some people do put modifiers in the middle of an infinitive that would more logically go somewhere else.

I can’t quite go for hopefully in place of “it is to be hoped”. But America’s word authorities have declared it good English, so it is probably just my pedantry talking.
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Perry Lassiter
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Postby Perry Lassiter » Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:25 pm

Hopefully is far better for several reasons:
1 - You replace four words with one.
2 - Writers are repeatedly instructed by most style sheets to assiduously avoid the word it, as it is often unclear as to its referent.
3 - When you do use it make sure it is unambiguous, as I think it is in the last sentences I have written.
4- The sentence reads much stronger if you write, "Hopefully we shall throw a party after the game." That way you have an active verb with a direct object. Much better. "It is to be hoped that we throw a party aft the game" is much weaker. By whom is it to be hoped? The entire predicate becomes a long infinitive clause. Scrap it!
pl

bnjtokyo

Postby bnjtokyo » Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:51 am

How about "We hope to throw a party after the game"?

Perry Lassiter
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Postby Perry Lassiter » Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:39 am

Tell me when and where, and I'll be there!
pl


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