From owner-freebsd-chat Wed Apr 12 21:11:26 2000 Delivered-To: freebsd-chat@freebsd.org Received: from theory1.physics.iisc.ernet.in (theory1.physics.iisc.ernet.in [144.16.71.20]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with SMTP id CE81C37BBEC for ; Wed, 12 Apr 2000 21:11:14 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from rsidd@theory8.physics.iisc.ernet.in) Received: (qmail 10134 invoked from network); 13 Apr 2000 04:11:07 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO theory8.physics.iisc.ernet.in) (144.16.71.128) by theory1.physics.iisc.ernet.in with SMTP; 13 Apr 2000 04:11:07 -0000 Received: (qmail 1712 invoked by uid 211); 13 Apr 2000 04:11:06 -0000 Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 09:41:06 +0530 From: Rahul Siddharthan To: "Thomas M. Sommers" Cc: freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: BSDCon East Message-ID: <20000413094106.B1701@theory8.physics.iisc.ernet.in> Mail-Followup-To: "Thomas M. Sommers" , freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG References: <200004122318.TAA00470@server.baldwin.cx> <38F51B1B.A37CD69A@mail.ptd.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Mailer: Mutt 1.0.1i In-Reply-To: <38F51B1B.A37CD69A@mail.ptd.net>; from tms2@mail.ptd.net on Wed, Apr 12, 2000 at 08:55:55PM -0400 X-Operating-System: Linux 2.0.32 i486 Sender: owner-freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.org > > Our object is to cement trade relations further. > > > > There, what's ambiguous about that? :) > > "It does not add to a writer's readableness if readers are pulled up now > and again to wonder--Why this distortion? Ah, to be sure, a non-split > die-hard." Fowler, p. 580. > > Fowler splits the English-speaking world into 5 groups, the first of > which includes those who neither know nor care what a split infinitive > is. Of this group he says: "Those who neither know nor care are the > vast majority, and are a happy folk, to be envied by most of the > minority classes. 'To really understand' comes readier to their lips > and pens than 'really to understand'; they see no reason why they should > not say it (small blame to them, seeing that reasons are not their > critics' strong point), and they do say it, to the discomfort of some > among us, but not to their own." Fowler is fun to read. Kingsley Amis (in a book called, I think, "The King's English") points out how this anti-split-infinitive sentiment spills over to other constructions too: he cites some such sentence as "It is rare to find someone totally being honest" (I don't remember his example) and continues, "The seasoned campaigner will sniff in the air and smell someone who dislikes split infinitives" or words to that effect. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message