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Which of these sentences is correct?

The accent with which I speak
The accent which I speak with

Are they not the same?

While we are on the topic, I would greatly appreciate if you would tell me which one of the following sentences is correct and if the wrong one is not said at all.

  1. They are a very proud people
    They are very proud people

  2. Cancer cells help invade
    Cancer cells help to invade

  3. Oxygen has a higher electronegativity
    Oxygen has higher electronegativity

Em1
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Jack
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  • To answer your first question, the only difference between the sentences is that the second ends with a preposition and the first one doesn't. Either one is okay, unless you're writing for a teacher who strictly enforces the "rule" that you shouldn't end sentences with a preposition (This "rule" is arbitrary and unnecessary, and often results in awkwardly phrased sentences). – Nicole Dec 19 '14 at 20:16
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    They have the same meaning, and they are the same except that one of them has undergone the rule of Pied-Piping to move the preposition to the front, with the relative pronoun, while the other one has left the preposition stranded at the end while moving the relative pronoun to the front. Pied-piping is optional, so both sentences are grammatical. And, since pied-piping is a syntactic rule, it doesn't change the meaning. – John Lawler Dec 19 '14 at 20:21
  • But if it were me, the second sounds quite jarring. I'm okay with "The accent with which I speak" and I'm okay with "The accent that* I speak with" but not with "The accent which I speak with*" – Jim Dec 19 '14 at 20:24
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    You can also say The accent I speak with. – Barmar Dec 19 '14 at 20:25
  • It would be best if you asked separate questions for your other pairs of sentences, they're not really related to the "with which" question. – Barmar Dec 19 '14 at 20:26
  • Your other three questions are good enough, but you should probably ask each of them separately. 1 of your subquestion is related to 3, but there is a unique explanation for each. – ScotM Dec 19 '14 at 20:27
  • And subq 2 is a duplicate: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/3578/what-is-the-correct-way-to-use-infinitive-after-the-verb-help-with-or-without – Andrew Leach Dec 19 '14 at 20:50

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