what does she spend it on — stranded prepositions (GiU Unit 49)
The frame
Section titled “The frame”A: She spends a lot of money. B: What does she spend it on? ✓
Order: wh-word + aux + subject + verb + object + preposition.
The machine
Section titled “The machine”| slot | word |
|---|---|
| 1 wh-word | What |
| 2 auxiliary | does |
| 3 subject | she |
| 4 verb | spend |
| 5 object | it |
| 6 preposition (stranded) | on |
Do-support appears because the main verb is present/past simple (spends → does … spend).
Stranded vs fronted preposition
Section titled “Stranded vs fronted preposition”| informal/normal | formal/literary |
|---|---|
| What does she spend it on? | On what does she spend it? |
| Who are you waiting for? | For whom are you waiting? |
| Where does it come from? | — |
Default = stranded (preposition at the end). Fronting sounds stiff/archaic in speech, and requires whom not who.
Same in relative clauses: the person I spoke to (✗ to whom I spoke, formal only).
Source
Section titled “Source”Raymond Murphy, English Grammar in Use, Unit 49 — Questions 1. Ebot lesson 2026-09-05.