Oh, those dreaded split infinitives! It turns out that they aren't so bad, regardless of what Miss Wilson said in the fourth grade, Miss White in the eighth, and Miss Jones when I was a junior in high school. My Grammar Pal, June Casagrande (author of Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies) reminds me that Fowler of Elements of Style fame says, "Some infinitives seem to improve on being split, just as a stick of round stovewood does." He gives the example "I cannot bring myself to really like the fellow." The infinitive "to like" does not much suffer from having "really" interfere with the tight-knit infinitive club. So, advice from here? Watch split infinitives. Make your choices. But when it comes to splitting one before the eyes of a publisher or agent, take the safer path. Choose another way of saying what you want to say. No point in letting something like a split infinitive get in the way of getting published.
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june casagrande, grammar snobs are great big meanies, elements of style, fowler, split infinitives, the frugal editor, carolyn howard-johnson
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults and speaks on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com. She blogs on all things publishing (not just editing!) at www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com.
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