I got an email response from John Gruber!
I read DaringFireball every day, as every good, God-fearing user should. I came across a post yesterday, which prompted me to email the author, John Gruber, the following note:
You used the phrase “to not just forbid the use of the APIs” in your post about Amazon today.
Hardly seems like you. I’ve always appreciated your attention to grammatical detail.
Before you decide I’m a total d-bag, note that he’s a real stickler for language, and invites corrections.
This morning, to my surprise, I received this thoughtful, personal email from him:
Good catch, and I truly appreciate grammar and spelling error reports from readers. However, in this case, it was not an error.
I firmly believe that there is nothing wrong with split infinitives. The “rule” against them originated in the late 1800’s, apparently from rule-happy grammar teachers versed in Latin. There was no such rule against them before that.
Take the famous line from Star Trek:
To boldly go where no one has gone before.
Move “boldly” before or after the unsplit “to go” and the phrase loses all of its vigor.
-J.G.
For reference as to how happy this made me, I also had an email in my inbox from David Ortiz’s agent, and I opened Gruber’s first.
Perhaps split infinitive’s grate on me because I studied a bunch of Latin, or perhaps it’s because I have so many insecurities about my own command of English, and this is one of the few rules I can consistently obey. Either way, I’ll continue to pass on split infinitives, but I can now respect those who consciously employ them.
A quick scan of Wikipedia suggests this issue is far more complex than I’d originally appreciated.
By the way, like Gruber, I also invite any spelling or grammar corrections readers can suggest.
