> Latin purists are attributed with the "no split infinitives" rule, too.
>

You're right; I'd forgotten that one.

> Personally, I never gave split infinitives any thought at all until only a few years ago. When I developed an ear for recognizing them, something clicked inside of me, and now whenever I hear or, more often, read one, I cringe. Split infinitives are just...ugly. There's something very unappealing about them.
>

...Although an exception must be made for: "To *boldly* go where no one has gone before." :-)

> Ending sentences with prepositions, on the other hand, is a rule I rarely have a problem breaking. The usual way to "fix" sentences that end in prepositions often, but not always, sounds more elegant, so I make an effort to rephrase on those occasions when I'm writing something I care about. In the cases the rephrasing is awkward, or in informal writing or speaking, I merrily break the rule without a backward glance.
>

Ditto.

> My favorite unrephraseable example: "Aw, Mom, what'd you bring that book I don't like to be read to out of up for?"
>
> And, of course, we must always remember the words of Winston Churchill, who, when corrected by another on this very rule, said: "That's the sort of pedantry up with which I will not put."
>

I remember when these two examples came up months ago in the Site Journal. I've shared them with my Mom ("Mom" must always be capitalized--another oft-neglected rule :-) ), who's quite the grammar buff, herself.

Iss "buff dude" achar