On 11/24/05, Chris Barker <ftog@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> I think, robert, that you are entitled to your opinion about
> splitting infinitives, but that it is a matter of opinion rather than
> fact :-). Until quite recently in English dictionaries in the UK it
> was condemned as grammatically incorrect, but around 8 years ago it
> was accepted as merely a matter of style, thus supporting your
> assertion. But ...
>
> If you leave the infinitive complete the word "to" is much easier to
> understand in a sentence, particularly a long or complex one. It is
> true that split infinitives are easy to understand in isolation, but
> when they are in a complex sentence they can make the sentence
> overall more difficult to understand.
Well I'm part of what my friend referred to as the "to boldly go"
generation so it doesn't bother me. So I'd say that splitting the
infinitive to insert an adverb is acceptable. Given that the adverb is
modifying the infinitive it doesn't really create problems with the
sentence's clarity.
Something else to remember is that some of the current grammatical
rules have nothing to do with the way in which the English language
was traditionally spoken or written but come from 19th century
academics attempting to make English grammar behave more like Latin
grammar.
One of my personal pet peeves with grammar though is the mis-use of
adverbs with the verb "to feel". For example, "I felt badly...".
Depending on the context of the sentence, "I felt badly" would mean
that either your sense of touch or your ability to feel emotions was
impaired in some way. In most cases the person means to say that they
"felt bad". I suspect the confusion arises from the fact that well can
be used both as an adjective or an adverb.
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