Can you end an English sentence with a preposition?

Yes, you can end an English sentence with a preposition. Sentences such as “Who are you talking to?” and “That is the topic we spoke about” are natural, standard English.

Where did the supposed rule come from?

Some traditional grammarians preferred English to resemble Latin, in which this construction was not available. That preference was sometimes taught as an absolute rule. English, however, is not Latin, and prepositions have appeared naturally at the ends of English sentences for centuries.

Natural versus very formal English

You can write “To whom are you talking?”, but it is considerably more formal than “Who are you talking to?” In many contexts, moving the preposition forward makes a sentence sound stiff. Formality matters, but clarity and natural usage matter too.

Nederlandse uitleg

In het Nederlands: in het Engels mag een voorzetsel vaak gewoon aan het einde staan. “Who are you talking to?” is correct en klinkt veel natuurlijker dan de zeer formele variant.

Try it yourself

Which sounds more suitable in an ordinary conversation: “What are you looking for?” or “For what are you looking?” The first is the natural choice.

Source: Cambridge Grammar. Featured photograph by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash.