to deliberately split an infinitive in a thread title?

[MardyBra]

Psammead has put me in charge of pedant baiting when she is in charge at the weekend, when everyone is off at the meet-up. Thought I'd get a bit of practice in.

I'm probably being a bit thick here but surely it's not a split infinitive if it starts "am I being unreasonable" as all AIBU do?

Indeed MrsTP.

Mardy, Mardy...

I get passionate about split infinitives. Really, truly.

We attempt to adhere to the grammatical rules of a dead language because at one time it was seen as perfect.

It wasn't perfect, people! It was just a language! They couldn't split their infinitives. It was physically impossible. We can. And should. Whyever wouldn't we? We are not Latin speakers! We are British! God save the queen.

What did the Romans ever do for us, eh? Eh? Made us afraid of our own bloody language, that's what. The buggers.

MardyBra, you are a rubbish pedant baiter, you should be sacked. I am a self-confessed arch pedant (), but split infinitives don't bother me at all. You've got to try harder.

HappySeven. "to split" is the infinitive. I deliberately put "deliberately" in between the "to" and "split".

You mean its derivation, as we are in pedant mode. And a Romance language. I don't normally do this but this thread is special!

Mardy. That's quite a funny x-post. I thought for a moment you were outraged at my Latin rant.

Psammead - you are preaching to the converted! DH and I have been having this argument for two decades. What does he know? He's a bloody scientist by training. I don't try and preach to him about science.

-polishes username-

x posting again.

No, 'to deliberately split' is definitely a split infinitive. :)

lololololol at toboldlygo

But there is a split infinitive in the title. There is, there is.

Thanks, Maryz!

Urgh, I meant Maryz.

Maybe I should of made a different mistake in the thread title...

'to split' is the infinitive, it's split by 'definitely'.

I shouldn't of come on here its making me wont to cry!

And fair point, MardyBra, I hadn't really thought it through. I always just look for them at the start of sentences.

Ahem.

To deliberately split is a split infinitive. Correct usage is to split deliberately.

But it is OK to split the infinitive in modern English. The Times style guide and many others agree with me.

Can't think of a single example where a "split" infinitive isn't grammatically ok. Stylistically some people object to them, but that's taste, not grammar. In many cases I think they reduce ambiguity, which I think is better writing. Have a v good quote from dictionary of linguistics I can find when not typing from phone.

Ok. We have established that in infinitive is split.

And that [certain] MNers would not know a split infinitive if itbit them on the bum. You Know Who You Are.