Posted by andy clayton on April 06, 2002 at 14:13:08 from 195.93.48.174:
In Reply to: Re: Nevertheless..... posted by John Lambert on April 06, 2002 at 08:32:25:
Grammar really gets people hot under the coller, and I have to admit my grammar and spelling leave a lot to be desired, but some rules and pedantries are just silly. The split infinitive rule, invented sometime in the C18th. was designed to be applied to Latin grammar not English. There is no inherant reason why an adverb shouldn't be placed befor a verb. AR was writing at a time when such rules were ferociously applied but not always consistantly...English has always been a flexible language, to the annoyance of those struggling to learn it!
(Hang on... just going to duck below the parapet!)