Maciej Stachowiak wrote:
On Apr 14, 2007, at 3:14 PM, Geoffrey Garen wrote:
1.4
"when not qualified to explicitly refer"
when not qualified explicitly to refer
(split infinitive)
The split infinitive is not generally considered a grammatical error
these days. See <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_infinitive> for the
fascinating (to grammar mavens) history of the construction and a
reference that "most experts on language now agree that the split
infinitive is sometimes appropriate."
For those of us, fifty years ago, who bore Mrs. Stokes's evil eye in 7th
grade English grammar, it still causes a certain queasiness to watch the
language change. But, change it does.
In these cases, though, un-splitting the infinitives makes the meaning
of the phrase more clear to those of us who do not already grok the
issue in fullness. It isn't always mere pedantry when one picks at nits.
Isn't that what writing a specification is all about?
cheers,
gary
