22 AUGUST 1998, Page 24

To boldly cavil

Sir: With reference to the current contro- versy over split infinitives, the following quotation from Bernard Shaw might be of interest:

Some busybody on your staff has seen fit to correct my split infinitives. Every writer will split an infinitive when the sense demands it. It is of no consequence to me whether the miscreant decides to go quickly, to quickly go or quickly to go. The important thing is that he or she should go at once.

Neil Stanley

23 Storth Park, Fulwood Road, Sheffield