I got into a pretty heated debate the other day as to whether the use of a split infinitive was incorrect. I strongly believe [see how much better that is than any alternative?] that split infinitives are fine and proper and have their place in good writing.

Ha!

Yeah, it definitely sounds better in many instances. I was just giving her a hard time.

There are also situations where it sounds better to sound a sentence with a preposition, even though that usually makes a part of me die inside.

Technically right: "To whom are you writing that letter?"
Technically wrong but sounds less snobby: "Who are you writing that letter to?"

The rule against split infinitives goes back to those who wanted us to speak English like Latin. As English is not Latin, it is a silly, silly rule.

I posted this link in another thread, but I think it belongs here, too.

Well English is heavily influenced by Latin via Romance languages, especially French. Though I wonder does German have the rule against split infinitives?

Oh good grief, no.

Harkening back to college German -- someone slap my wrist if I'm remembering completely incorrectly: In German, the infinitive only consists to one word. For example, machen = to make. But, some verbs have prefixes that are seperated from the verb in finite forms. For example, anfangen = to begin; but "Let's begin" is "Fangen wir an." (Literally, it would translate something like "start we out.")

Back to the thread: "Myself" is a reflexive pronoun, appropriate as an object of a verb when the subject of the verb is "I," as in "I wrote that myself."

"Myself" is not a substitute for "me," as in "The pledge class consisted of Damien, Lucifer and myself." Use of "myself" in this fashion does not, as some seem to think, make the writer sound more educated.

Apparently, I've been using em dashes incorrectly for a long time now. There should be no spaces between em dashes. I should have written "...and style are still important--even on the internet."

^^ Yup, German is crazy like that. They also might have a random verb (not just a prefix) at the end of the sentence. It would be something like, "We are going to the store to go" in English (with the infinitive verb "to go" at the end).

(Oops, that wasn't supposed to be pointed at Kevin.)

Ja ich mag Deutch, weil es verben an die Ende der Satze haben.

Yes, I like German, because it verbs ad the end of sentences has.

:cool:

I agree with this so much.

Lucy and RU OX Alum, isn't it the infinitive at the end of the sentence, with other verbs earlier to in the sentence?

Yep. That's what I was trying to demonstrate. "I like potatoes to eat." Ich mag Kartoffelen essen.

Sorry, that was probably full of errors but...eek!

I admit, I have a habit of writing in fragments on GC. I'll just start a sentence with "and" or "but" and I know it's wrong, but it sounds conversational and indicates pause. Sometimes I use use "..." or "---".

Co-sign on the bit about ending sentences with prepositions. I guess we've bastardized our own language to the point where correctness sounds stuffy.

The expectation for writing for Greek Chat is not the same level as MLA or APA, but it's definitely at a higher level than texting/IM etc. It is fun to pick apart the grammar/spelling of obnoxious posters.

Oh for SURE! It's especially funny when they talk about how smart and amazing they are. :rolleyes:

I'm glad I remember something from college. :D

But "I strongly believe" isn't a split infinitive; "I was led to erroneously believe" would be a split infinitive.

A split infinitive is the seperation of "to" and the rest of the infinitive form of the verb, as in "to boldly go where no man has gone before." The grammatically "correct" construction would be "to go boldly where no man has gone before."