: Re: Using the grammatically correct way or the casual way to express the same idea in another language? In casual conversation, it is perfectly fine to end a sentence with a preposition. How

@Deb2945533

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Technically, not ending a sentence with a preposition is a rule that Latin-obsessed 17th-century nerds tried to impose on the English Language, as a part of a larger attempt to make English grammar work exactly the same as Latin grammar. This rule wasn't true for English grammar before the 17th century, and doesn't really reflect modern usage either, though it is taught, and some official texts insist on it. It is perfectly alright to end sentences with prepositions. (Sources: Oxford Dictionary blog, Merriam Webster Dictionary usage notes)

To the broader question of tone vs. correctness, when translating text, you want to preserve the language register of the original text, the tone of what is being said. If you alter the register, you are changing what the situation "feels like" - you're changing who the characters are - how they talk, how they interact with each other.

In some languages and some situations, some grammatical errors are more acceptable. Those "errors" have become part of everyday usage, whereas the "correct" form is "formal". When that is the case, the usage is what it is. If your characters were speaking English, that's how they would have said it, right? They would not have used the formal form? Then don't use the formal form.

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