Re: Dangling prepositions and phrasal verbs.

Roger Mills wrote:
>
> Andreas Johansson wrote:
> > I've heard a disturbing number of Englishers claim that
> > sentences like "I'm going out" are not kosher, on account
> > of violating the ban on free-floating prepositions.
>
>   <snip>
>
> Back in the Jurassic, when I was in grade school learning
> to diagram sentences ( which I loved to do, BTW), many
> students were thoroughly confused by things like that,
> even though when diagrammed, the two sentences were
> seen _not_ to have the same structure.  But some of us
> even ventured to argue the matter with the teacher, and
> tried to say that in such cases, "bring up" "look at" "look
> for" et al. should be diagrammed in such a way that e.g.
> "look at" was the _verb_, not a verb with modifying adverb.
> In those days the argument didn't get very far........
>
> It's my impression that the modern method of diagramming
> sentences-- if it is taught at all anymore-- is different from
> what I learned.
I, too, enjoyed diagramming sentences back in the 1960s.
But grammar in general, and diagramming in particular,
are not taught much in U.S. public schools anymore. A
friend of mine asked a professor of education at Wayne
State University (in Detroit) about eight years ago, if
diagramming sentences was still taught. His reponse?
"God, I hope not!"

--Ph. D.