Split Infinitive 04 what it is said today.

In the previous articles (Split Infinitives 02, Split Infinitives 03) we saw how the grammarians of the early 20th century condemned the usage of split infinitives, and ruled them out as incorrect. How is it received today?

I looked up some dictionaries, grammar books and sites of today, and they do have sections on split infinitives and explain the construction. However, they do not dismiss the construction completely, and some even say that there is no justification to the incorrectness, and the placement of the adjectives can convey difference in meanings.

The form of the verb with to, with an adverb placed between to and the verb, as in She seems to really like it. Some people consider this to be bad English style. (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary)


If the verb is a 'to'-infinitive, you usually put adjuncts after it, or after the object or complement if there is one.
Some people do not put adverbs between the 'to' and the infinitive, but this use is not considered correct by some speakers of English. (Collins Cobuild English Grammar)


Some people believe that split infinitives are grammatically incorrect and should be avoided at all costs.
But there's no real justification for their objection, which is based on comparisons with the  structure of Latin. People have been splitting infinitives for centuries, especially in spoken English, and avoiding split infinitive can sound clumsy. It can also change the emphasis of what's being said. The sentences:
          You really have to watch him. [i.e. 'It's important that you watch him']
doesn't have quite the same meaning as:
          You have to really watch him. [i.e. 'You have to watch him very closely']
(Oxford Living Dctionaries)


I think language is a natural object, and it constantly changes in time and in environment. The grammatical correctness is not something that is forced onto you but an instinct that comes from spoken language, whether you 'feel' the construction well-formed or not. Grammarians in the early 20th century pursued prescriptive grammar, whereas today, it is descriptive, much more faithful to the actual language.