Behind the Grammar

People are posting messages on my Facebook page incorrectly stating that split infinitives are against the rules in English and that good writers should not split infinitives. I needed to take immediate action to dispel this myth.

The authoritative Bryan Garner says in “Garner’s Modern American Usage,” “Although few armchair grammarians seem to know it, some split infinitives are regarded as perfectly proper.”

Many (of not all) modern style guides allow “good” writers to split infinitives when it sounds more natural. Other experts who explicitly allow split infinitives include

• Patricia O’Connor, author of “Woe Is I”
• John McIntyre, former copy chief of the Baltimore Sun and former president of the American Copy Editors Society
• Bill Walsh, author of “Lapsing into a Comma” and a copy desk chief at the Washington Post
• Barabara Wallraff of Wordcourt and the former editor of the Copyeditor newsletter
• The Chicago Manual of Style (5.106)
• The Associated Press Stylebook (section on verbs)
• The Language Log (calls the belief against splitting infinitives is a “zombie rule”)

I could add more, but it seems unnecessary.

Many people were taught in the past that they shouldn’t split infinitives, and some people are still taught that, but it is an outdated rule that isn’t based on reasonable logic. (The Chicago Manual of Style places the heyday of this rule between 1850 and 1925.) It is based on a Latin rule that has little to do with English. (The reasoning is that it’s impossible to split an infinitive in Latin because Latin has no two-word infinitives, so it shouldn’t be done in English either–which is ridiculous reasoning.)

It’s true that split infinitives still annoy many people, but I won’t support a myth just because many people hold a mistaken view and choose to complain. I do advise people not to split infinitives in important documents such as cover letters for jobs because in such circumstances it’s good to take the safest, most conservative route; but I will never say split infinitives are wrong, and I won’t allow people to say so unchecked on my Facebook page.

People often ask me what is the one book I couldn’t live without, and the answer is Garner’s Modern American Usage, which is why I was shocked to receive the message below (which I trimmed) from the author this morning saying bookstores are not stocking his book:

I need your help in sending a message to the major bookstore chains: they’re not stocking the book because they’ve told Oxford University Press that they consider usage guides a “defunct category.” It’s maddeningly unbelievable. Please help me show them that they’re stupendously wrong.

Meanwhile, in the coming months you might ask about the book when you’re in a bookstore: ask the managers why they don’t stock copies, and encourage them to do so.

If you’re curious to see what effect you’re having, watch the rankings on Amazon.com or Bn.com in coming days and weeks. We’ll be alerting the major chains to those numbers, and we want to get as close to the top 50 as we can. If you’re trying to order and see that the book is labeled “out of stock,” order anyway: the effort is also to ensure that the online booksellers keep adequate stocks.

Thank you for whatever help you can provide in this endeavor to show booksellers that the concern for good English is alive and well.

Bryan A. Garner

How important is this to me? I have my own book to promote this week–The Grammar Devotional goes on sale on Tuesday, 10/27–but I’m using this space today to ask you to support Garner’s Modern American Usage. Buy it today if you can. Ask your bookstore why they don’t stock it. Tell them English reference books matter.