My Grammar and I (Or Should That Be 'Me'?): Old-School Ways to Sharpen Your English

made of/made from
A bit pernickety, this one, but something is made from something that has been
transformed; it is made of something that is still visible or recognizable:
This ice cream is made from
raspberries.
So if you don’t like raspberries, have
the chocolate mousse instead.
This pavlova is made of
raspberries, cream and
So if you don’t like raspberries, you
can pick them out and I’ll eat them.

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meringue .
Smart Alec:
Why does your house burn up as it burns down?
How come you have to fill in a form to fill out a form?
Why can you see stars out but not lights out?
Get us out from under this
‘May I end this sentence with a preposition?’
C
HAT
-
UP LINE
Rule: It is wrong to end a sentence with a preposition.
*29
Well, yes, if you subscribe to Robert Lowth’s rules.
†30
In Latin it is not possible
to end a sentence with a preposition, so Lowth decided that this must be the case
in English, too:
‘This  is  an  Idiom  which  our  language  is  strongly  inclined  to;  it  prevails  in
common conversation, and suits very well with the familiar style in writing; but
the  placing  of  the  Preposition  before  the  Relative  is  more  graceful,  as  well  as
more perspicuous; and agrees much better with the solemn and elevated Style.’
Perspicuous  ,  forsooth.  And  note  the  ending  of  the  first  line,  although  Lowth
may  have  been  something  of  a  wit  and  written  this  intentionally.  We’ll  never
know.
Anyway,  this  seems  to  be  a  rule  for  a  rule’s  sake,  which  of  course  would  have
been right up Lowth’s street. In fact, ending a sentence with a preposition rarely
hinders  its  meaning  and  often  sounds  more  natural,  certainly  in  speech.
Compare:
That’s the office in which I work.
That’s the office I work in.
The choir shown on Songs of Praise
is the one with which I sing.
The choir shown on Songs of
Praise is the one I sing with.

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About what the hell are you on?
What the hell are you on about?
‘This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.’