The elementary school is running a survey so that the kids can identify their interests. It’s a fine idea but, because I’m very picky, I’ve immediately honed in on a couple of problems. Problem number one is that, in the cover letter, one paragraph boasts three grammatical errors, ranging from a mere aesthetic failure (a split infinitive) to that irksome subject/pronoun agreement problem. Our schools educate badly because our teachers are badly educated.
Problem number two is that, of all the many, many career choices listed on the survey, the military is not included. I noted that omission instantly because, at this phase in life, that is the career my child would choose.
As an aside, I have a comment about split infinitives. Many view the whole split infinitive thing as an archaic rule that’s best abandoned. (Wikipedia has a great article about split infinitives, here.) For the most part, I try not to split my infinitives because, as I noted earlier, I find a split infinitive aesthetically unappealing. I’ll give you a more practical reason for abiding by this old rule, though. If you decide to rejoin your infinitive, you will find that you have an adverb that needs to go somewhere. Relocating that adverb will often highlight the fact that there are other grammatical problems with the sentence, or that the sentence is otherwise unwieldy or ambiguous. Thus, while the split infinitive itself may not be a problem, it’s often a little canary in the coalmine, giving an early warning that the sentence is somehow defective.
Filed under: Education
“To boldly go where no man went before”.
What is the problem here and how would you fix it?
“To boldly go” inserts an adverb between the “to” and the verb go. It works for us because we’ve been hearing it for more than 30 years. It’s an iconic sentence. The grammatically correct (although less exciting) version is: “To go boldly where no man has gone before.”
Corrected to: … where no person …
No less a pedant than Wm F. Buckley has admitted defeat and officially decreed that dangling prepositions and/or split infinitives are acceptable usage for the great unwashed. I’m not sure Jay Nordlinger agrees.
I’m with you. Split infinitives generally result in awkward sentences. If William F. Buckley thinks they’re all right, then I’m sure I’m against them. (I’m also against abbrieviating people’s given names, as you may notice.)
Even if some split infinitives aren’t irritating (and “to boldly go” makes me cringe every time I hear it), there is one construction that I cannot accept under any circumstances. That is “to not do something.” There’s really no excuse for that; the correct phrase is “not to do something,” and the split infinitive adds nothing but clunkiness.
I think I would be more concerned about that survey if I were you. I doubt if its purpose is to let the kids identify their interests. I think its purpose is to let the school administration pigeonhole your kids.
Write in “military” or whatever else is missing directly on the survey. Make sure to use a non-black pen, so it is more noticeable.
I couldn’t agree more about Buckley. He came to the college where I worked for a three day conference and was every bit as affected and obnoxious in person as he appears to be on television. BTW – He, himself, used the abbreviation.
erp–
that proves my point about him, doesn’t it?
Trish, I was being facetious in my original comment citing Buckley as an arbiter of grammatical correctness.
Of course I find myself wondering how many of the teachers could identify an infinitive – or for that matter, an adverb.
I bet they all say “badly” when they mean “bad,” too.
Our tax dollars at work…
erp–
so was I.