Pete:
>Ah Ha! I know at last; and with that mnemonic, I don't think
that I'll forget. My vote is restored. THX <
Johnny Mnemonic, meet Pete's mnemonic. Any relation?
Thanks for your vote of confidence.
Thomas Mueller:
>According to my copy of the Random House Dictionary of the
English Language, dating to 1969, the notion that a split
infinitive is a grammatical faux pas derives from attempting to
apply Latin grammar to English, but there is nothing inherent in
English grammar or style to support this notion....<
The English language owes a great deal to Latin, though.
Hence, it seems only natural that some Latin rules should apply.
Still, "Hardly any serious commentator believes that infinitives
should never be split. The dispute is between those who believe
that split infinitives should be avoided when this can be done
with no sacrifice of clarity or naturalness, and those who
believe that no effort whatever should be made to avoid them."
-- from http://www.alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxspliti.html
Terri
Official Grammar Sheriff
