Saturday, August 04, 2012

Now, THAT's a split infinitive

We're gonna be seeing a lot of stuff on language and politics in the coming months, no doubt. Check out John McWhorter's new CNN piece (here) as an example of that. He argues that talking folksy is good for candidates.

It doesn't count as folksy, for most of us at least, but politicians naturally split infinitives, like the rest of us. Romney was quoted (here) as having said this:
I've been interested in seeing that the president continues to not only in speeches but in ads say things that are patently untrue.
For me, and I split infinitives happily even in formal writing and often find non-split infinitives odd or occasionally wrong, this just doesn't work. 

8 comments:

be_slayed said...

I can imagine saying this, but I would end up "repairing" it (as in ()s):

"...continues to----not only in speechs but (also) in ads----(he continues to) say things that are...."

Mr. Verb said...

Good point. I could get that too.

ALM said...

This absolutely works for me, which brings the total number of things I agree with Romney on to an impressive *one*.

Mr. Verb said...

Now, that's working to say something nice.

HANNAH'S DAD said...

I'm with ALM - that seems like perfectly normal conversational English to me.

Or rather: That seems to at least to my eyes and in the context of conversational English be fine.

Faldone said...

The caption on that Star Trek pic should read: To Boldly Where No Man Has Gone Before Go.

Mr. Verb said...

THAT is brilliant.

The Ridger, FCD said...

It works for me, too.