Prepositions form relationships between words (the object of the preposition) and other words in a sentence. They can show connections of location, time or ideas. Examples of prepositions at work include:

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It’s most acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition in casual or informal writing. This phrasing is more conversational, and therefore more appropriate in this setting, especially in questions. For example:

SFM to RPM

Many times, sentences end with a preposition because there are simply too many prepositions in it! These are the easiest sentences to edit. For example:

SFM to RPMChart

Phrases that sound natural in a conversation may feel overly familiar or awkward in a formal essay, article, or conversation.

These new sentences sound more formal, but still correct. It’s worth adding the relative pronouns back to relative clauses in formal writing to make sure readers understand your meaning.

Several English idioms and colloquial expressions end in prepositions. When you put the expressions at the end of a sentence, the sentence therefore ends in a preposition. For example:

surface feet per minuteto m/min

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Ending a sentence with a preposition has long been considered grammatically incorrect. It's a rule from Latin grammar that was applied to English. However, while it’s still frowned upon by traditional readers, it’s not technically an error. Learn when ending a sentence with a preposition is okay — and how to fix those sentences when it’s not.

If you don’t know the subject of a sentence or who is performing the action, you may find yourself writing in passive voice. In addition to ending a sentence in a preposition, writing in passive voice is also a no-no to traditional grammarians. For example:

You can rewrite these sentences to avoid ending in prepositions (“Let your sister come along” becomes “Let your sister come with you”). But generally, this use is acceptable.

It's perfectly acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition if the alternative would create confusion or sound unnatural. “What are you sitting on?” and “This is the movie I told you about!” sounds much more natural than “On what are you sitting?” or “This is the movie about which I told you!”

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These prepositions all fall within the sentence, not at the end. But sometimes, prepositions find themselves at the end of a sentence. This is known as a dangling preposition (or a hanging preposition). Here are some examples of sentences that end with prepositions.

As with all passive writing, rewriting the sentence can clear up any doubt of grammatical correctness (“The game was called off” becomes “The game was canceled,” for example). But if you need to write in passive voice, be sure that you actually need to end the sentence in a preposition.

While informal writing doesn’t require you to move the preposition away from the end of the sentence, it may be best to do so in formal writing.

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Adding relative pronouns in these sentences technically works, but they sound more awkward. (For example: “We have so much in our lives for which to be grateful” is correct, but doesn’t sound quite right). In formal writing, it’s best to rewrite the sentence and put the noun back after the preposition (“We are grateful for so much in our lives.”)

Each of these sentences has a relative clause, but you can’t find it because the pronoun is missing. When you put the relative pronouns back, the preposition moves as well.

Strict grammarians may cringe at these sentences, but ending a preposition is a question of style, not proper grammar. There are specific instances in which you can end a sentence with a preposition in modern writing, and other contexts in which you should avoid these dangling prepositions.

Like many grammar rules, the idea of avoiding prepositions at the ends of sentences is a rule you can break — if you know why you’re doing it. Clear up any other preposition misunderstandings with these tips on determining whether to use in or on in your writing.

Splitting relative clauses is one of the most common ways to end a sentence with a preposition. They begin with relative pronouns (who, whom, that, which) and can function as the subject or object of a sentence. When they’re the object of the sentence, you can omit the pronoun — but this often results in a dangling preposition. For example:

Another common way to end a sentence with a preposition is to shorten an infinitive phrase. When infinitive phrases function as adverbs, they follow the noun that they modify. For example: