It is OK to split infinitives
It is OK to split infinitives. Really. If the sentence’s meaning is clear, and it sounds good, then who really cares? I will never condemn a person for splitting an infinitive; however, I may mock someone who botches a sentence in order to be more grammatically precise. So please, be my guest; it’s now ok to defiantly split infinitives until the cows come home. From here on out, I want to not talk about this any more.
Matthew, here is what Wikipedia has to say:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_infinitive
The question of whether or not it is acceptable to split an infinitive seems to be a question of circumstances, in my opinion. If it is formal writing, such as a scholarly work, or legal, or medical document, the rules are strict for good reasons. If, however, it is not then they become an issue of style only. The speaker or author’s style is a matter of taste. The worst that can be said about them is that the frequent use of them can make language clunky sounding.
To be honest I think your post is, however, great. Live and let live. They are only words. I enjoyed your post on this subject. My mother’s best friend was an English teacher in the high school I attended. I still have memories of flinching when she walked into our kitchen. She would smile and ask how I was, and then, as if I were set on fire by a quart of kerosene and a match, I would run out of the room. I was just a kid.