Ending a Sentence with a Preposition
As a rule, a sentence should not end in a preposition. (However, as shown later in this section, there are several factors to consider.)
Examples:
 That is a situation I have not thought of.
(The word "of" is a preposition. Writers should avoid ending sentences in
prepositions. This is because, a preposition should sit
before a noun.)
She is a person I cannot cope with.
(The word "with" is a preposition.)
It is behaviour I will not put up with.
(This example ends in two prepositions: "up" and "with".)
Not a Serious Error
Where possible, you should avoid ending a sentence in a preposition. However, after shuffling the words so that the preposition is not at the end, the re-structured version often sounds contrived and unnatural.
Examples:
That is a situation of which I have not thought.
(This version is grammatically more pure than the one above. In this example, the
word "of" sits before "which" (a type of noun - see lesson Types
of Pronouns.)
She is a person with whom I cannot cope.
It is behaviour up with which I will not put.
(This example sounds extremely contrived.)
Reword to Avoid
Often, the best solution is to re-word the sentence:
Examples:
That is a situation I have not considered.
(There are no prepositions in this sentence, and it has the same meaning.)
It is behaviour I will not tolerate.
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YOUR CHOICE
In summary, if you cannot find an alternative without a preposition, you have a choice whether to leave the preposition at the end or to re-structure your sentence.
Some readers will frown at the first example below, because it ends in a preposition. The second example sounds, for many people, too contrived.
 She is a person I cannot cope with.
She is a person with whom I cannot cope.
Either can be used. There are no hard and fast rules on this subject. However, most grammarians would select option 1 when speaking but option 2 when writing.
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Common grammar errors
