Should we let readers hang?

 

I had never heard of the Concluding Preposition Opposition Party but it does exist. I have heard of the American dictionary Merriam-Webster and in February 24 their offices stated it is OK to end a sentence with a preposition such as to, with, about, upon, for or of.

Many of us have been taught  the dim and distant past that a structurally sound sentence can't be made with a preposition placed at the end. It is true Romance Languages, derived from Latin, cannot form a structurally sound sentence with the preposition at the end. 
English is not a Romance language.

According to Merriam-Webster a 17th century poet called John Dryden popularized the rule created by grammarian Joshua Poole and the rule has lasted three centuries. Even in the cases where an ending preposition sounds odd, it's still grammatical, if not the best stylistic option.

Example: "That's what we're talking about" does sound better than: "That's about what we are talking"? Can't disagree with that. But most people would rejig the entire sentence rather than use such a formation.

Using "with" at the end of a sentence can leave the reader hanging with nowhere to go because of the meaning of the word itself. How prepositions are used can be important. I hear sentences such as “That is what we’ll go with” as dialogue in modern tv plays and series, and meaning is clear but the phrase is hardly elegant. It may be acceptable in conversation and perhaps newspapers but authors usually aim for clarity and eloquence in their novels. Cliffhangers are acceptable, but no author wishes to leave their readers hanging at the end of a sentence!