Ending sentences in prepositions

Preface: Never promise something and then get sick. This post was supposed to happen last friday, but obviously that didn't happen. Enjoy.

---

For.
At.
Of.
In.
About.

What do those words have in common? If you're from the US, you may think that they are perfectly acceptable words to put at the end of a sentence--usually a question.

Examples:

• Where are you at?
• What is this for?
• What are you talking about?
• What are you guys looking at?

Those all seem perfectly normal, right? I have news for you. Those words are called prepositions. The most common prepositions are "about," "above," "across," "after," "against," "along," "among," "around," "at," "before," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside," "between," "beyond," "but," "by," "despite," "down," "during," "except," "for," "from," "in," "inside," "into," "like," "near," "of," "off," "on," "onto," "out," "outside," "over," "past," "since," "through," "throughout," "till," "to," "toward," "under," "underneath," "until," "up," "upon," "with," "within," and "without."

What are prepositions? They are "connecting" words. If the connecting word is at the end of a sentence, what is it connecting? It's connecting your sentence to air. This is much like the dangling so, but even more widespread in American English. If you feel the need to leave that preposition hanging, think of other ways to word your sentence. Not only will that give you a little mental exercise, it will even make you look smrter.

I will leave rewording examples up to you, the reader. I'll admit that this is also a weakness of mine so you may just hear me do it as well.

Fizzle out?

I know what you're thinking.

Two posts and then nothing.

My original plan when starting this was to make posts of substance on Fridays, but the last two Fridays have been a little "odd." With NCAA basketball, birthdays (mine) and poker, I've been a little, shall we say, under the weather on the last two Fridays.

I promise that there will be one this Friday--I've already started it.