'To' at the end of the question

Question

Hi teachers,I know that questions ending in prepositions are very common in English, after Who, Which or What.Sentence: Peter is running to the sea.If I have that previous sentence, should 'to' be used at the end of the question or it is optional? Where is Peter running to?To the sea.Thanks in advance.

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

English lacks a distinctive word for the two meanings where can have in sentences like yours. If someone asks Where is Peter running? the answer can be He is running in the street. In your example, I would add the to and say Where is Peter running to?

CB

Tenacious Learner · Answer

Cool BreezeEnglish lacks a distinctive word for the two meanings where can have in sentences like yours.

Hi Cool Breeze,
Thanks for your reply. Someone told me that, "Where is Peter running to?" would be considered ungrammatical by many people. But, because of your explanation, now I don't think it is.

TL

Cool Breeze · Answer

Tenacious LearnerSomeone told me that, "Where is Peter running to?" would be considered ungrammatical by many people. But, because of your explanation, now I don't think it is.

This is from Random House Unabridged Dictionary:

—Usage. WHERE … AT (Where was he at?) and WHERE … TO (Where is this leading to?) are often criticized as redundant because neither AT nor TO adds anything to the meaning of WHERE, and sentences like the preceding ones are perfectly clear and standard without the final AT or TO. This criticism does not apply to WHERE … FROM, which is fully standard: Where does the money come from? The constructions WHERE … AT and WHERE … TO occur in the speech of educated people but are rare in formal speech and edited writing.

It says nothing about sentences like yours. If where ... to? is incorrect, then we just have to be inexact and ambiguous. That isn't at all uncommon in English.

CB

Tenacious Learner · Answer

Hi Cool Breeze,
Wow! Thanks once again for your very detailed explanation.

TL

'To' at the end of the question

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