honestly i get even more steamed about split infinitives because it's a stupid rule that does not apply to english and should not have EVER been applied to english in the first place BECAUSE IT'S A RULE FROM LATIN *THAT LATIN DOESN'T EVEN FOLLOW*
oh god sorry everyone my vyvanse kicked in and so we're doing this i guess:
if ANYONE gives you grief for splitting an infinitive ("to boldly go" is one, where "to go" is split by "boldly"), take out your copy of Strunk and White and BEAT THEM ABOUT THE HEAD AND SHOULDERS WITH YOUR TOME, because even Elements of Style says that splitting an infinitive is okay (just that it should not be used unnecessarily, so to save it when you really want that adverb to be punchy).
this rule has never ever been a fucking rule in english. it's a rule in LATIN, but that's because in LATIN, your infinitives are one word. so don't split up one word.
for example, "amare" means "to love". d'aww.
EXCEPT.
E X C E P T. then you get to all of the different forms that you can get infinitives in. like if you want that verb in the perfect passive infinitive - "to have been loved" - you'd say "amatus esse". AND HO SHIT, THAT'S TWO WORDS!
and latin authors WILL ONE HUNDO PERCENT split that motherfucker up if it's in two words!!!
latin is a language where a position in a sentence means fuckall. it's only about those case endings. you can literally chuck all those words in a hat and shake them around and put them in totally random order and it will still make the same sentence.
latin poetry takes advantage of this. a lot. obnoxiously a lot actually.
so EVEN THE ROMANS split their infinitives! this rule for latin wasn't even a fuckin RULE to begin with!!! i have gone hunting through fucking ovid with one part of an infinitive for one hand, gritting my teeth as i comb through the other part. there's an infinitive that is split, and then there is an infinitive that has been bitterly divorced for 15 years, ok?? if your infinitive is split by like an entire paragraph, that's above and fucking beyond "to boldly go".
so if anyone ever tries to tell you that rule is for english.... one, english is english, it's not latin. and two, it's not even a rule in latin!!!
SPLIT YOUR INFINITIVES WITH VIGOR AND IMPUNITY, AND IF ANYONE ARGUES WITH YOU, EAT THEM
thank you, this has been today's episode of english major yelling corner