This is the nonsense up with which we shall no longer put.

The Traditional Rule:

You must never end a sentence with a preposition. It’s grammatically incorrect. Instead of “What are you talking about?”, you should say “About what are you talking?”

Why It’s Broken:
Because no one — and I mean no one — speaks like that outside of a Victorian séance or a 17th-century play. The “no prepositions at the end” rule is a Latin import — one that doesn’t even fit English. We aren’t speaking Latin. We’re speaking English. And in English, putting a preposition at the end is natural, elegant, clear, and human.

Absurdities and Contradictions:

• “This is the book I told you about.” ✅

• “This is the book about which I told you.” 🚨 Sound the pretentiousness alarm.

• “Who are you talking to?” → Natural.

• “To whom are you talking?” → Grammatically blessed. Socially cursed.

• “That’s the hill I’m going to die on.” → Epic. Clear. Human.

• “That’s the hill on which I’m going to die.” → No one talks like this unless they wear powdered wigs.

Real-World Examples:

• “This is what I came for.”

• “That’s the guy I was waiting on.”

• “She’s someone I look up to.”

• “We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

• “They gave us nothing to stand on.”

• “It’s a mystery I can’t put up with.”

British vs. American Variants:

• Americans tend to be more relaxed with terminal prepositions.

• Some British formal writing still clings to the rule, but spoken English across both regions happily breaks it.

The Reform Proposal:

1. Abolish the rule. Completely. Fully. Irrevocably.

2. Let prepositions sit wherever clarity, rhythm, and tone demand — beginning, middle, or end.

3. Teach formality and tone awareness, not artificial constraints.

4. Judge grammar by usefulness, not outdated structure mimicry.

How It Would Work in Practice:

• “The person I gave it to.” ✅

• “The email I was referring to.” ✅

• “The hill I will die on.” ✅

• “The code I couldn’t log in with.” ✅

• “The sentence I ended with a preposition — and nobody died.” ✅✅✅

Final Word: End With Pride.
The idea that a preposition must never end a sentence is one up with which we shall not put. Let’s put the rule where it belongs — at the end of the line. And then end the line… with a preposition.