Question about 'at'. Chapter 10

Question

Hi Teachers,The prepositon 'at' is optional in the sentence. Why is that?A: Where are you going next Saturday?B: I'm going nowhere. I'm going to be (at) home.Thanks in advance

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Thinking SpainThe prepositon 'at' is optional in the sentence. Why is that?

Because.

It's just another of those strange facts about English.

CJ

Tenacious Learner · Answer

Hi Jim,

Nice to see you around.

It's just another of those strange facts about English. Thank for your reply!

Best,

TS

AmicusCuriosa · Answer

Far be it from me to cite Grammar Girl as an authority, but hers is the only site I've found thus far that deals with something the opening post reminded me of: Where are you at?

GG comes down a little softer on that than I would. All she says is to leave off sentence-ending prepositions if they are unnecessary. Otherwise, I agree with her that it's not an error to do so. So do any grammarians worth their salt. It's been that way for a long time. Online word mavens such as Paul Brians, Brian Garner, and Jack Lynch concur. That's good enough for me.

Since it grates on my ear, I will never intentionally end a sentence with at. Never, never, never, never. However, some of GG's commenters argue for at being used that way as an intensifier. The most frequent mention goes to That's where it's at, as opposed to That's where it is. They do not say the same thing, not really. The former may be needed to aptly say what a writer has in mind, so say the commenters. If a writer knows what's she's doing, I'm not going to give her any static for ending a sentence with at.

Then there's the hoary joke about Harvard snobbery. Freshman: Excuse me, do you know where the Harvard Library is at? Senior: Here at Harvard, we do not end sentences with prepositions. Freshman: Okay. Excuse me, do you know where the Harvard Library is at, #!&*+^lt;/a>?

CalifJim · Answer

But the question had nothing to do with ending a sentence with a preposition.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

B. You would generally not say, "I'm going nowhere.", because that statement is used when a person is in despair: "I've been passed over for promotion four times. I'm going nowhere." Better to say: I'm not going anywhere.

Although they mean basically the same thing, there can be the subtlest difference between "I'm going to be home." and "I'm going to be at home." "I'm going to be home." is the more abrupt, less friendly answer. "I'm going to be at home." is the more friendly, more drawn-out answer (the extra word "draws out" the reply).

Question about 'at'. Chapter 10

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