80a. Fritz looked the number up.
81a. Macarena put her shoes on.English allows particles to move behind the object noun phrase. But when
we move a preposition, we produce an ungrammatical sentence, as in:
- Mrs. DiMarco stepped into her garden.
82a. *Mrs. DiMarco stepped her garden into.
The question of movement also explains why particles are not true
adverbials. Most adverbials can move about in a sentence, as sentence 83 il-
lustrates:
- Macarena walkedslowlyto her car.
83a. Macarenaslowlywalked to her car.
83b.Slowly,Macarena walked to her car.
Particles, however, can move only behind the NP object. One possible ex-
ception may involve sentences like this:
Fritz picked up the book that Macarena had dropped.If we move the particle behind the NP object, we have:Fritz picked the book up that Macarena had dropped.Some grammars, however, have developed rules that move the particle to the
end of the dependent clause, and from time to time we may hear people doing
so in their speech, producing:
*Fritz picked the book that Macarena had dropped up.Sentences of this type, even when they are produced by grammar rules, are
ungrammatical.
Usage Note
Sometimes people who assert that ending a sentence with a preposition cre-
ates an ungrammatical construction will offer as evidence an ungrammatical
sentence that indeed ends with what appears to be a preposition. Such sen-
tences commonly resemble sentence 84:
- *Fritz put his shoes and then walked to the Qwikie Mart for a bottle of Wild
Turkey on.
TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR 93