Editing Split infinitive (section)

== Avoiding split infinitives ==
Writers who avoid splitting infinitives either place the splitting element elsewhere in the sentence or reformulate the sentence, perhaps rephrasing it without an infinitive and thus avoiding the issue. However, a sentence such as "to more than double" must be completely rewritten to avoid the split infinitive; it is ungrammatical to put the words "more than" anywhere else in the sentence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bartleby.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619093847/http://www.bartleby.com/61/55/S0655500.html|url-status=dead|title=Homework Help and Textbook Solutions &#124; bartleby|archive-date=June 19, 2006|website=www.bartleby.com}}</ref> While split infinitives can be avoided, a writer must be careful not to produce an awkward or ambiguous sentence. Fowler (1926) stressed that, if a sentence is to be rewritten to remove a split infinitive, this must be done without compromising the language:

<blockquote>It is of no avail merely to fling oneself desperately out of temptation; one must so do it that no traces of the struggle remain; that is, sentences must be thoroughly remodeled instead of having a word lifted from its original place & dumped elsewhere&nbsp;…<ref name="Fowler 1926, p. 559">Fowler (1926), p. 559.</ref>
</blockquote>

In some cases, moving the adverbial creates an ungrammatical sentence or changes the meaning. [[Larry Trask|R.&nbsp;L. Trask]] uses this example:<ref name=Trask>{{cite book|last=Trask| first=R. L.| author-link=Larry Trask| title=Mind The Gaffe|year=2001|editor=Penguin Books|isbn=0-14-051476-7|pages=269–70|publisher=Penguin|location=London}}</ref>

:*''She decided to '''gradually''' get rid of the teddy bears she had collected.''

::"Gradually" splits the infinitive "to get." However, if the adverb were moved, where could it go?

:*''She decided '''gradually''' to get rid of the teddy bears she had collected.''

::This might imply that the decision was gradual.

:*''She decided to get rid of the teddy bears she had collected '''gradually.'''''

::This implies that the collecting process was gradual.

:*''She decided to get '''gradually''' rid of the teddy bears she had collected.''

::This sounds awkward, as it splits the phrase "get rid of."

:*''She decided to get rid '''gradually''' of the teddy bears she had collected.''

::Trask considers this almost as unwieldy as its immediate predecessor.

:*'''''Gradually,''' she decided to get rid of the teddy bears she had collected.''

::This might imply that her decision or the fact that she will get rid of her teddy bears is gradual.

The sentence can be rewritten to maintain its meaning, however, by using a noun or a different [[grammatical aspect]] of the verb, or by avoiding the informal "get rid":

:*''She decided to get rid of her teddy bear collection gradually.''<ref>With a slight change in meaning: she could have a teddy bear collection without having collected it herself, e.g., if she bought it in its entirety.</ref>
:*''She decided she would gradually get rid of the teddy bears she had collected.''
:*''She decided to rid herself gradually of the teddy bears she had collected.''

Fowler notes that the option of rewriting is always available but questions whether it is always worth the trouble.<ref name="Fowler 1926, p. 559"/>