TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: prepositions From:mpriestley -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM Date:Fri, 9 Dec 1994 10:55:09 EST
Glen Accardo writes:
>A preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with. I'd never write the
>preceding sentence in a manual, but I would put it in email/e-mail/E-mail --
I don't have any trouble ending a sentence with a preposition. Sometimes
the construction I'd need to use to get around it is more trouble than it's
worth. If the sentence is clearer and shorter with the preposition at the
end, that's where I put it.
Example:
"You can use compiler options to control the linking process by changing
the type of runtime library you link to."
- from a section of a compiler user's guide on "choosing runtime libraries".
Michael Priestley
mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
Disclaimer: speaking on my own behalf, not IBM's.