split infinitives
Pretend, for a moment, that you are writing some sort of manual or workbook. Would you rather write, "to effectively do the job," or, "to do the job effectively," in your tome?
The first example is wrong, because it is splitting the infinitive. It may sound better to some, but I personally will always prefer "to do the job effectively, one must," because it sounds much more professional. "To effectively do the job" sounds like it leads into "yous gotta..." or something equally obscene.
This question was posed to me by my grandfather, who was wondering if common usage had spawned the former example.
The first example is wrong, because it is splitting the infinitive. It may sound better to some, but I personally will always prefer "to do the job effectively, one must," because it sounds much more professional. "To effectively do the job" sounds like it leads into "yous gotta..." or something equally obscene.
This question was posed to me by my grandfather, who was wondering if common usage had spawned the former example.