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Is Simplified Spelling Worth Reform?
digitalhermit writes "I guess many folks are of very little brain, and big words bother them... There's a push for simpler spelling. Instead of 'weigh' it would be 'way.' 'Dictionary' would be 'dikshunery' and so forth. Dunno if it's a joke, but it seems in earnest. Mark Twain must be spinning around somewhere." Twain is often credited with the satirical call for spelling reform called "A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling," though according to Wikipedia, Twain was "actually a supporter of reform," and the piece may have been written by M.J. Shields. Benjamin Franklin was another champion of spelling reform, and even came up with a phonetic alphabet to implement such reform.
"Centre" is not an example of the prefix + stem + suffix model. It is a reminder that England was for a time ruled by the French.
Sadly, I've seen 5th grade papers where the kid spelled through 'thru' and the teacher didn't let out a peep. :(
Through->thru was one of Webster's proposed spelling reforms. Don't knock it too badly. You may be more familiar with some of Webster's other proposed spelling reforms that did succeed, such as colour->color, programme->program, etc. Through->thru didn't have quite the same level of success but it's still used ubiquitously on road signs for space-saving concerns.
Cyde Weys Musings - Scrutinizing the inscrutable
First is OK each time, second is only OK in the first example. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to explain why this is (or just why).
The second one ends in a preposition. A preposition must always have an object. We often incorrectly place the object of a preposition earlier in our sentences--"What did you place it on?" should be "On what did you place it?". This is considered OK in informal (and often formal) speech, as the meaning is still clear. The object is there, it's just in the wrong place. The second example in your second pair, however, has no object for its preposition. This makes it incorrect by any standard.
In your first pair of examples, there is no preposition. In the second pair, there is one. It's the same as if you'd stuck an article with no noun on the end of the second example in the first pair.
"Which book did you file without reading the first page?"
"Which book did you file without reading the"
See? An article must have a noun. A preposition must have a noun or pronoun. If you say "on" you have to answer the question "on what (or whom)?" It's a usage rule for prepositions. The reason that the second pair is wrong has nothing to do with why the first pair is right.