It’s too scary. Even worse than the last one.
Dale, why are you determined to stop us sleeping?
What do you Brits have against the preposition “from?”
Conversely, Why do we Yanks insist on sticking an extra word, such as “from,” in that sentence?
I read it as such anyway, so it doesn’t bother me.
That avatar ain’t new. It’s recycled. Um…I think.
I like Dale’s avatars. [cue squeaking noise due to the friction of brown-nosing] I’m sure that Dale’s professional capacity affords him particular access to a vast palette of paradigms from the human subconscious, and deftly employs these images to remind us that we had best ever do obeisance to him in fear and awe. And I mean that in a nice way.
No, it isn’t new…it comes from this story from the C&F main website:
http://www.chiffandfipple.com/kneedriving.html
Susan
But hasn’t it been used as an avatar before, too? I could have sworn…
To my ears the preposition “from” sounds like it belongs in the sentence because of cultural conditioning.
Another difficulty is the use of a preposition at the end of a sentence. I used to get in trouble when I did that in grammar school. To demonstrate the ridiculousness of such rigid rules, consider this:
Winston Churchill was addressing a crowd when he was interrupted by a young person with the statement, “Sir, you used a preposition with which to end a sentence.” Churchill replied, “Young man, that is the kind of nonsense up with which I will not put.” Enough said.
There’s work to be done! Get out of bed!
I read a Proverb (from the Biblical book) about that last week. Something along the lines of “Don’t close your eyes! There’s lots of work to be done!” I was cozying in, getting ready to go to sleep when I picked up the book and read it, no less.
At work is the only place I feel like sleeping…
I suppose it’s just the old divided-by-a-common-language thing. I don’t recall ever having been told off before for leaving out a preposition in similar circumstances - it’s a common enough construction over here. I’m afraid that in many ways Americans are often more au fait with the letter of the law where English grammar is concerned than Brits are. That’s partly due to the ludicrous fads that have blighted the teaching of English in England.
Personally, I’d rather put my faith in Fowler’s than in the OED.
As for prepositions at the end of sentences, I always used to get stress for that, especially from my father. Perhaps that’s why I decided to learn a couple of South Asian languages… Hindi/Urdu, Panjabi, Gujurati etc all use postpositions - i.e. the same as prepositions, but supposed to be at the end of the sentence. As in, “Mera nam Rick hai”: literally, “my name Rick is”.
Is this a private argument or can the rest of us join in?
Private=PM, AFAIK.
Was I telling you off? I hope not! I was just in a silly mood.
Here…let me add some smilies: 
Hit me with your best shot perrins!(more smilies required: 
)
“Telling you off” ends in a preposition. This is the kind of error of which I would never dream happening!
Well, the phrase is a sort of euphemism, so it doesn’t really function as a preposition…
I think you’re right, but I’d call it an idiomatic expression.
I thought that everybody around here had whistles on the brain.
Slan,
D. 
The general rule in British English, as I understand it, is to convey your precise meaning in the fewest words possible. I often edit my posts before submitting, taking out verbiage. It’s a hangover from the cost of telegrams.
In this instance, the “from” is implicit. Buddhu could not be stopping us by, with, upon, into, alongside, underneath or any other preposition, sleeping.
I also notice a general tendancy for British posters to leave people to read between the lines, while American posters spell things out in more detail. I’m not saying one or other approach is superior, but I think it does lead to occasional misunderstandings, and is one way in which British and American humour differ.
Right.
Could say “Off, I am telling you.”
