An example from the Oxford Dictionaries using the preposition 'from' - can it be written differently?

Question

I was reading about prepositions on Oxford Dictionaries and encountered this sentence as an example there.

There’s no necessity to ban prepositions from the end of sentences. Ending a sentence with a preposition is a perfectly natural part of the structure of modern English.

The boldfaced phrase looked a bit unnatural to me. I understand that you ban someone 'from' something but then that preposition (from) is followed by the phrase the end of the sentence which is actually a place. In such cases, it follows the preposition 'at'. Tell me the last letter 'at' the end of the sentence is far too common over Tell me the last letter 'from' the end of the sentence.

May I adjust this sentence to fulfill my dogma!

There’s no necessity to ban prepositions from using (them) at the end of sentences. Ending a sentence with a preposition is a perfectly natural part of the structure of modern English.

Answer 1

A phrase using the verb "to ban" with a subject and a location typically follows the form "To ban subject from [(verb)ing at] location"

ILLOGICAL: There’s no necessity to ban prepositions from using (them) at the end of sentences.

When you ban something from (verb)ing at location, you prohibit the subject from performing the action at the specified place. Here you are prohibiting the prepositions themselves from using (something unspecified: them) at the location the end of the sentence. The issue here is less the structure of the sentence than the choice of verb: 'using' appears to have no object, and it seems unlikely that a preposition would be able to 'use' (take illegal drugs) in a colloquial sense.

CORRECT: There’s no necessity to ban prepositions from being at the end of sentences.

Here, prepositions are prohibited from performing the action, being, when at the end of sentences. They are not allowed to exist at the end of sentences. This is quite clear.

ALSO CORRECT: There’s no necessity to ban prepositions from the end of sentences.

When banning someone/something, the "verb + at" is optional. If excluded, as in "To ban subject from location, "being in" or "being at" is implicitly understood. This example has the same meaning as the previous example and is also very clearly phrased.

Both correct examples are fairly standard and including "being at" shouldn't sound particularly strange to a native ear. Since language tends towards simplicity, however, the exclusion of the verb is more likely.

Answer 2

1. There is no necessity to ban prepositions from the end of sentences.
2. There is no necessity to ban prepositions at the end of sentences.

Both of the above sentences sound fine to me and have the same meaning

So many times we come across words that can be used interchangeable, the authors choosing what they feel most appropriate to their particular context.

Answer 3

There is nothing wrong with the phrase "to ban prepositions from the end of sentences". In fact, if we take into consideration the meanings of the verb ban and the preposition from, the phrase will be clear and come across easily. The verb ban means to prohibit from doing, using, etc. The "from" means (among others) in regard to, which is often used in this sense with different verbs such as prevent, prohibit, save, protect, ban, etc. So if we keep the said meanings in view, the sentence will sound clear and natural to us. However, it can be written in different ways, a few examples of which are as follows:

• There is no necessity to ban prepositions at the end of sentences.
• There is no necessity to ban prepositions from being used at the end of sentences.
• There is no necessity to ban prepositions from being at the end of sentences.

Answer 4

With only a slight change, "to ban prepositions from use at the end of sentences" may be better received than "to ban prepositions from (being used at) the end of sentences".

This is the noun "use", not the verb "use". They are spelled the same but have slightly different pronunciation and distinctly different meanings. If that seems confusing, welcome to American English!