"at" at end of sentence

[Thom Harrison]

When I was growing up in the 1950s in what was then Central Florida (south
of Ocala) and is now North Florida, "Where's it at" was common enough for
all the English teachers to rail about it.

That dialect area at that time was actually Southern Mountain because of
migration patterns earlier in the century.  Maybe the final "at" is even
more general in distribution.

Thom


-----Original Message-----
From: Paul McFedries [mailto:lists at MCFEDRIES.COM]
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 6:14 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "at" at end of sentence


Many of my friends in Indiana use the sentence-ending "at," so I suspect
it's more of a midwest thing.

Paul

> You know you're from Ohio if:
>
> You end your sentences with an unnecessary
> preposition. Example:"Where's my coat at?"
>
> I'd always thought this was American in general (ie., Canadians
> never put "at" at the end of sentences, but it's one of
> the first things we notice when we go south of the border).
>
> Is this usage considered specific to Ohio or that general region?