Which is the correct phrase:
You have 5 days left of your trial.
or:
You have 5 days of your trial left.
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You could also sidestep the issue and go with remaining instead (which also works in both positions).– John YSep 2, 2014 at 12:59
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@JohnY also true but I was asking as a matter of interest but thanks:)– Daniel GalaskoSep 2, 2014 at 13:03
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What's interesting is while the sign might point to the left, it may not actually be right.– SrJovenSep 2, 2014 at 15:35
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Left can be a preposition (as in location in space - and to a lesser extent in time), so perhaps that is contributing to a bias against putting it at the end of a sentence? At any rate, sentences ending with prepositions are just fine.– Patrick MSep 2, 2014 at 18:39
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1@EdwinAshworth beside the bookshelf vs left of the bookshelf might work. It's not listed in a dictionary as such, but in this case, bookshelf doesn't belong to the left, so the preposition of isn't the start of the phrase.– SrJovenSep 3, 2014 at 10:19
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1 Answer
Both are fine — although I would say that the second one sounds more natural.
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1Though I'd not disagree with your answer, it would be better to add support from a recognised authority. Admittedly, that doesn't seem an easy task. Dictionaries don't seem to acknowledge the 'be left' (= 'remain') and 'have ... left' constructions, never mind whether prepositional phrases may be placed after the 'left'. As I wouldn't say that 'left' can be claimed to modify any verb or noun hereabouts, I wouldn't like to have to suggest a POS here. I'm possibly stuck with the 'particle' dustbin that I seem to have bought to replace the 'adverb' model. Sep 2, 2014 at 11:26
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I would like to add a reference too, but I have no idea where to get one... It's one of those things that you sort of know, but don't know why you know...– TimSep 2, 2014 at 11:34
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1@EdwinAshworth Dictionaries do not define grammar, so if you forget to apply any on your own, you will find that you will go leaving a great many entries remaining to be discovered: left is an inflection of leave.– tchrist ♦Sep 2, 2014 at 12:21
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1@EdwinAshworth You seem to suffer from various misunderstandings about what dictionaries are and are not, and do or do not, so it will probably just feed these confusions by way of confirmation bias for you to learn that the OED covers all of this current matter under its sense 3a of leave, and even includes to be left, with illustrations in both Old and Middle English. Suffice it to say that it leaves no room for doubt — but do please enjoy the Anglo-Saxon Gospels and the Ancrene Riwle while you’re off bias-confirming.– tchrist ♦Sep 2, 2014 at 15:07