Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Really, the idea that split infinitives are undesirable went out a century ago. It only came into being in the first place when misguided Victorian grammarians tried to force English into the straitjacket of Latin grammar (a very silly idea) and decided that, since infinitives can't be split in Latin (because they're a single word), they shouldn't be split in English either. English is not Latin.
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It’s amazing how many misguided grammar and usage rules were created from about 1700-1900 that were taught in school but never reflected actual English usage. Robert Baker’s attempt at creating an arbitrary distinction between “less” and “fewer” is still taught as gospel in many schools.
False prescriptivism is a hobgoblin.