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Anonymous
08-15-2004, 01:03 PM
Mr. Alexander, to whom I usually talk on phone, is a acute businessman.
1)Mr. Alexander, whom I usually talk to on phone, is a acute businessman.

Fortunately we got a map, without which we would have gotten lost.
2)Fortunately we got a map, which we would have gotten lost without.

Since the preposition can be placed before anadjective pronoun or after the verb, so is the second sentence right or wrong? If wrong why?

Pete
08-15-2004, 07:56 PM
Mr. Alexander, to whom I usually talk on phone, is a acute businessman.
1)Mr. Alexander, whom I usually talk to on phone, is an acute businessman.

Fortunately we got a map, without which we would have gotten lost.
2)Fortunately we got a map, which we would have gotten lost without.

Since the preposition can be placed before anadjective pronoun or after the verb, so is the second sentence right or wrong? If wrong why?
Both sentences 1 and 2 are correct. I think sentence 1 would be very common. In sentence 2, the preposition at the end of the sentence is so far removed from the relative pronoun that is its object, I prefer the first version.

You used to hear a "rule" that said not to end a sentence or clause with a preposition. This certainly is not a rule that must be followed in standard English, but it is good to compare the version with the preposition before its object with the alternative and see which is easier to understand.

Anonymous
08-16-2004, 07:30 AM
Thanks a lot Pete!