Whom does that vehicle belong to? versus To whom does that vehicle belong?

I'm French and I saw the two versions of this question. Which one is the best way to express it? Are there differences of meaning between the two forms? Thank you for your help.

Solution 1:

The following extract from Oxford.com blogs make some interesting point about the common usage of ending a sentence with a preposition:

• There are numerous myths relating to grammatical dos and don’ts, many of which were drummed into us at school. The one that stubbornly refuses to budge from my mind is the diktat ‘never start a sentence with a conjunction such as and or but’. Another one is that one cannot end a sentence with a preposition. Let’s try to zap the one – sometimes referred to as stranded prepositions – and lay it to rest once and for all.

In fact, there are four main types of situation in which it is more natural to end a sentence or clause with a preposition:

• passive structures (she enjoys being fussed over)

• relative clauses (they must be convinced of the commitment that they are taking on)

• infinitive structures (Tom had no-one to play with)

• questions beginning with who, where, what, etc. (what music are you interested in?)

To sum up:

• the deferring of prepositions sounds perfectly natural and is part of standard English. Once you start moving the prepositions to their supposed ‘correct’ positions you find yourself with very stilted or even impossible sentences. Well-established and famous writers over the years, such as George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, and Julian Barnes, have been blithely stranding their prepositions to no ill effect: please feel free to go and end a sentence with a preposition!