| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 566.1 | Could you repeat the question? | PSTJTT::TABER | Answer hazy -- ask again later | Thu Sep 29 1988 18:28 | 23 |
| I think:
- The Wall Street Journal *did* print that.
- The word "it" was considered printable seven years ago, and
even before that.
- 52% of all editors weren't really surveyed.
- Even if 52% *were* surveyed, I find it hard to
believe they said "a sentence using the words 'to instantly
trace' is acceptable" without at least some prompting from
the surveyor. Or is it just saying that they said a
sentence using the words "to instantly trace" in it? It
still strains the imagination that they would all come up
with the same phrase without some encouragement, like
"A thousand pardons, your editoriacy, but can you use the phrase
'to instantly trace in a sentence? In a case like that, I would
believe that 52% of them could manage it. (And
even more of them if they were told there was a free drink
in it for them.)
|
| 566.2 | "To be or to not be", is that the question? | PAMOLA::RECKARD | Jon Reckard, 381-0878, ZKO3-2/T63 | Thu Sep 29 1988 18:41 | 0 |
| 566.3 | | AKOV11::BOYAJIAN | That was Zen; this is Dao | Fri Sep 30 1988 07:55 | 6 |
| This is one of those cases in which I feel that the "rule" is
rather artificial. I try to avoid splitting infinitives, but
it's more out of habit than anything else. Unless the resulting
phrase is clumsy, who cares?
--- jerry
|
| 566.4 | please don't _do_ that!!! | MARKER::KALLIS | Anger's no replacement for reason | Fri Sep 30 1988 13:46 | 10 |
| Re .3 (Jerry):
I care.
In my opinion, the only time an infinitive _may_ be split is when
doing so would avoid ambiguities.
Split infinitives set my teeth on edge.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
| 566.5 | Forget it | CLOSET::T_PARMENTER | Tongue in cheek, fist in air! | Fri Sep 30 1988 14:29 | 2 |
| There is no such rule in English. It is a Latin rule. Fowler is
hilarious on split infinitives.
|
| 566.6 | Jokur::Grammar | EAGLE1::EGGERS | Tom,293-5358,VAX&MIPS Architecture | Fri Sep 30 1988 23:56 | 3 |
| See also JOKUR::Grammar, topic 9.
Press KP7, etc.
|