Does the use of split infinitives bother you?

[A18]

Not at all.

[Хahar 🤔]

No. To with a straight face suggest that infinitives cannot be split is to uselessly cling to the belief that English ought to be just like Latin.

[Ban my account ffs!]

No. To with a straight face suggest that infinitives cannot be split is to uselessy cling to the belief that English ought to be just like Latin.

I don't think English should strive to be like Latin.  It is a Germanic language with Greek, Latin, and French influences... but the groundwork of the language is Germanic.

It's only a little ironic that we use a Latin term to describe the ancestors of our native tongue.  (Though we still use the original word for German on the Dutch... from the German "Deutsch")

[opebo]

I have no idea what is a split infinitive, even after reading the Wikipedia article on the subject.  

[Associate Justice PiT]

I have no idea what is a split infinitive, even after reading the Wikipedia article on the subject.  

     An infinitive is a verb with no subject. For example, "to speak." If you put another word between "to" & the action, that's a split infinitive. For example, "to rapidly speak."

[ilikeverin]

To ever split an infinitive is something I can't countenance.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Yay!  Something I can speak to as an editor and writer!

In many situations, the use of a split infinitive actually works better (sounds more elegant, perhaps?) than the alternative.

Like most of these controversial grammar rules, the only people who get upset and care about this stuff are high school English teachers and people with enough things shoved up their butt that they're unwilling to deal with the fact that we have a continuously evolving language.

That which was wrong 100 years ago is not necessarily wrong today, especially if it has widespread adoption.  It's the masses who define the English language, not the intellectual few who have nothing better to do than be grammar nazis.

[Torie]

We tend to split infinitives often in speech, but we should avoid doing it in writing. However wiki has this bit that suggests that in some cases a split is not so bad, and I would split rather than figure out how to eschew:

In some cases, moving the adverbial creates an ungrammatical sentence or changes the meaning. R.L. Trask uses this example:[33]

        * She decided to gradually get rid of the teddy bears she had collected.

        "Gradually" splits the infinitive "to get." However, if we were to move it, where could it go?

        * She decided gradually to get rid of the teddy bears she had collected.

        This might imply that the decision was gradual.

        * She decided to get rid of the teddy bears she had collected gradually.

        This implies that the collecting process was gradual.

        * She decided to get gradually rid of the teddy bears she had collected.

        This sounds awkward, as it splits the phrase "get rid of".

        * She decided to get rid gradually of the teddy bears she had collected.

        This is almost as awkward as its immediate predecessor is.

The sentence can be rewritten to maintain its meaning, however, by using a noun or a different grammatical aspect of the verb, or by eschewing the informal "get rid":

        * She decided to get rid of her teddy bear collection gradually.[34]
        * She decided she would gradually get rid of the teddy bears she had collected.
        * She decided to rid herself gradually of the teddy bears she had collected.

Fowler notes that the option of rewriting is always available but questions whether it is always worth the trouble.[

[opebo]

I have no idea what is a split infinitive, even after reading the Wikipedia article on the subject.  

     An infinitive is a verb with no subject. For example, "to speak." If you put another word between "to" & the action, that's a split infinitive. For example, "to rapidly speak."

How is it 'split'?  Split from the 'to', whatever that is?

My point here is that persons who speak English 'correctly' (class privileged 'native' speakers) do not need to know grammatical rules or definitions.  And I for one do find them tiresome.

[Associate Justice PiT]

I have no idea what is a split infinitive, even after reading the Wikipedia article on the subject.  

     An infinitive is a verb with no subject. For example, "to speak." If you put another word between "to" & the action, that's a split infinitive. For example, "to rapidly speak."

How is it 'split'?  Split from the 'to', whatever that is?

My point here is that persons who speak English 'correctly' (class privileged 'native' speakers) do not need to know grammatical rules or definitions.  And I for one do find them tiresome.

     As strange as it seems, it is split from the "to." I agree about the pointlessness of grammatical rules though. I learned how to speak English just fine without it. I didn't even know what an adverb was until I started taking French, but I got straight As in English anyway.