Grammar Nazi required!

MajorMaccas

MajorMaccas

MajorMaccas

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Joined
20 Oct 2005
Posts
1,900
Location
Suffolk, UK
After receiving a package in the letterpost today, I got an email from the tracking company telling me it had been delivered (redundant much?). Anyway, it had the name of who signed for it, which was new, so I told this to the person who signed:

"...it even shows who it was signed for by."

Now, I hate ending sentences with prepositions, and this one ends with 2! :eek:

"it even shows by whom for which it was signed." ? That just doesn't make sense :D

Help :P

/challenge on

EDIT: Challenge update: must contain all original words :D
 
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*coughtranslation*
...It Shows Who Signed
*cough*

Edit: Redundant much? Rising intonation within a statement.








*parp*
 
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yes, ann summers lives at my house and signs all my packages, though none are from her shop. The crazy bint thinks a woman can run a business. :P After she signs for my packages, she goes and makes me a sandwich! :D
 
Broadie said:
*coughtranslation*
...It Shows Who Signed
*cough*

Edit: Redundant much? Rising intonation within a statement.








*parp*
Click to expand...

Redundant much was the quickest way of asking a rhetorical question; that's necessary in brackets where I want to make a point, but not digress from my original intent. :rolleyes:
 
Ending a sentence with a preposition is fine in English. As Churchill once remarked, "That is the sort of thing up with which I will not put!"

It is one of many Latin rules not appropriate for modern English. Stop being a big girl's blouse. One would merely avoid them if it made the sentence unnatural. "it was signed by", whilst odd phrasing, is natural. "Which room is Mr Smith in?", is just as natural as "In which room is Mr. Smith?". Both are equally acceptable.

EDIT - I like this example I just found:

"There is no need to notify us about problems of which we are already aware."

"There is no need to notify us about problems that we are already aware of."
 
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Yes, I know, and explained it briefly in post #7. But, there must be a way for this sentence to make sense and flow naturally just rearranging the words.

"signed for" is the collective verb, "signed by" is vague and may mean the package itself was signed, rather than the postage slip.
 
The_Sophisticate said:
Yes, I know, and explained it briefly in post #7. But, there must be a way for this sentence to make sense and flow naturally just rearranging the words.
Click to expand...
No you didn't, it is 'right'. English is a dynamic language, more so than others. Preposition enmity a myth that you're propagating. And for that, sir, I will have your still beating heart on a platter.

Meanwhile in reality, I wouldn't say any sentence such as in the OP. There are much nicer ways to say it, for instance: "The package was signed for by person x". Or, "Receipt of the package was confirmed by a signature". Or even "The package was Signed for", as Recorded Signed for is a trademark to Royal Mail.
 
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