Most of us who learned grammar in the old days — in other words in the days when public schools actually taught grammar — were regularly treated to admonitions NOT to split infinitives.

But that was long ago, and let’s be honest, these days, only a few remaining purists get their knickers in a twist about an adverb or two lounging in between the “to” and the verb. Admittedly, they are right and should be accorded more respect than they get, but that doesn’t change the fact that for the vast majority, splitting an infinitive is no longer a “problem.”

Unfortunately, too many writers seem not to attend to infinitives at all, and one or two of the little monsters left wandering unattended can wreak havoc on a sentence. In other words, the problem of the infinitive extends beyond the split/don’t split debate and attention should be paid.

Infinitives (split or not) are self-contained units. They lurk like potholes in a road mucking up the progress of the sentence, jarring the reader and generally creating an annoying interruption in the flow.

Consider these sentences:

Families agree to give up lots of time, energy and money to make sure the events are successful as youth from FFA and 4-H groups prepare to show their prize animals and home economics projects.

• First, I am not sure anything is added by “agree.” The sentence could simple begin “Families give up…” But, if the first part of the sentence is important, then consider making the second part a subordinate clause: “… so they can assure the events are successful.” Or make the same infinitive a gerund: “… making sure the events…”

It’s going to be a tough year to create economic development initiatives. We’re going to continue to have to be creative in all of our partnerships with government.

• If you ask me, “to continue to have to xx” should be banned from usage for all eternity. How about a gerund: “continue having to be creative…” Or even consider a complete restructuring: “We need to be creative …” (The “continuation” is implied.)

Many people have the wrong impression that you have to give away millions to improve a situation.

• Here’s another candidate for eradication: “have to xx to xx.” You have to plan to. They have to expect to. We have to want to. The path to eradication in this case is a gerund, which also helps get to the point: “… that improving a situation requires you donate millions.”

Bottom Line: When you spot your sentence being dragged into the abyss by the weight of infinitives, consider one of these alternatives.

1. a gerund
2. a subordinate clause
3. a complete restructuring

What would you do to fix the following infinitive-laden sentences? Keep in mind, stacked up clauses and gerunds are no better solution. The key is variety.

• His lawyers descended to say that they plan to sue to force another full recount.
• The council is about to decide to undertake the steps to demolish the hospital, rather than to let it sit there and deteriorate over time.

I am a big fan of Ace of Cakes, the pseudo-reality drama on the Food Network. The folks who make up Charm City Cakes are my kind of creative geniuses.

Each episode, the quirky band of decorators is faced with the cake world’s version of a story to be told. After carefully crafting the base of the cake, (think outline), they begin the work of making its message come alive. First they apply a smooth, perfectly rolled fondant. Then other precise colors and accents are added, and the concept begins to emerge. A bit more theme-specific (and critical) detail work, and their vision in cake — the likes of which most of us could only dream of attaining — emerges.

Now contrast this to the average home baker who flails about the kitchen with inadequate equipment, hoping that a single icing tip and a spatula will suffice. Even if the cake is shaped correctly, the finish work is likely to brand the completed product as “homemade” — heartwarming for the intended recipients, but not likely to get the baker a place in the culinary spotlight.

Skilled writers shape their stories with the precision and detail of a skilled cake decorator. But writers who fail to craft their sentences with care are destined to overdecorate like an amateur with a butter knife. And like their baking cohort, they will no doubt create something, but when it is all said and done, audience appreciation will be limited to good friends and family who know how hard they tried. Not exactly the criteria for marketable success.

One of the most common (and easily improved) problem areas that leads to sloppy writing is redundancy, in particular the slathering on of adjectives and adverbs when the meaning is clear without them.

Consider these common examples:

joined together

“In 1998, a group of individuals with a love for the mountain joined together to form the Laurel Mountain Ski Company.”

• Have you every seen anyone “joined apart”? “Joined” implies “together.” No need for both words.

broad array

“RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data.”

• Ever been offered a “narrow array”? Websters defines an “array” as “an imposing group : large number.” Clearly, adding the modifier “broad” is redundant.

reason why

“Higgins says it’s clear profit is the sole reason why prices here are so high.”

Sherry’s Grammar List offers a wonderfully poetic explanation for why this is a redundancy: “The reason is already the why, and the why already means the reason. When you ask why, you’re asking for the reason, and when you ask for the reason, you’re asking for the why.”

final destination/final resolution/final outcome

“If the airline arranges substitute transportation that gets you to your final destination within an hour of your original scheduled arrival time, you won’t be compensated.”

“Mr. Sidorsky said he would fly to Moscow for more talks on Wednesday, an indication that a final resolution had not been found. “We hope to solve all other questions in the coming days,” he said”

“Oustimovitch said it’s clear his group won’t have a vote on the final outcome.”

• If a word implies “the end,” as in destination, solution and outcome, then it’s final. No need to final-ize it.

A note: The use of “final” with destination makes sense in the following sentence about “The Amazing Race,” where contestants race from one destination to another on the way to the end of the competition:

“At the airport each team bought tickets for their flight to their final destination of Portland.

share a common

“We’ve brought together two outstanding teams that share a common passion for innovation and commitment to customer success.”

“The two restaurants share a common kitchen between them, but The Loft is open only for the dinner-and-later crowd and leans toward a lounge atmosphere.”

I think we can assume that sharing implies having something in common.

mutually agreed

“FC Dallas announced that the club and defender Duilio Davino have mutually agreed to end his contract with FC Dallas”

• They either agreed, which is by definition mutual, or they didn’t, which is neither an agreement or mutual.

And the list goes on:

merged together

gathered together

completely destroyed

packed to capacity

random chance

You get the idea.

The solution to the problem of redundancy is the same solution to every writing problem: pay attention. Pay attention to what each word is doing in the sentence. But when it comes to redundancy in particular, be on the lookout for phrases that have become so common place, we read right over them without thinking.

When writers set out to produce work, they are — in some sense — entering a minefield. Each word, phrase and piece of punctuation offers the opportunity for misstep. And while writing errors won’t kill you, the real possibility exists that they will kill your credibility.

Perhaps one of the most treacherous areas for writers is in word choice. The difficulty comes in the transition from speaking to writing. Words that sound alike or somewhat alike but are spelled differently can cause significant confusion when it’s time to write them down.

The following is a list of the top ten most commonly confused words.

1) To, Too, Two:

“To” is either a preposition or part of an infinitive (a verb before it’s conjugated).

* Preposition: The writers went to the author’s reading in hopes of learning something new.
* Part of the infinitive: Choosing to write for a living could be considered insane.

“Too” is an adverb, which means it needs an adjective or another adverb to modify.

* The writer spoke too quietly to be heard.

“Two” is a number.

* The writer submitted two different articles for the magazine.

2) There, Their, They’re:

“There” is used either as an adverb indicating place or an expletive.

* Adverb: The writers who have been published are standing there by the display.

* Expletive: There is one thing every writer must remember before submitting a query to a magazine: Know the publication.

“Their” is a possessive pronoun.

* Writers know that their success depends on hard work and perseverance.

“They’re” is the contraction of “they are.”

* They’re all successful authors, but their social skills leave a lot to be desired.

3) You’re, Your:

“You’re” is the contraction of “you are.”

* You’re one of the most successful authors in the country.

“Your” is a possessive pronoun.

* Did you meet your deadline?

4) It’s, Its:

“It’s” is the contraction of “it is.”

* It’s a well-known fact that a failure to proofread will come back to haunt you.

“Its” is a possessive pronoun.

* The magazine purchases its content from an on-line clearinghouse.

5) Accept, Except:

“Accept” is a verb. (to take possession of)

* The writers in my class sometimes struggle to accept constructive criticism gracefully.

“Except” is most often a preposition, meaning excluding.

* Everyone submitted an essay to the contest except you.

“Except” is, on occasion, a verb meaning to exclude.

* Will they except those writers from the list of participants.

6) Affect, Effect:

“Affect” is a verb meaning to influence.

* Good writing affects people in profound ways.

“Effect” is usually a noun meaning result.

* The effect of bad writing is also profound, but not in a good way.

“Effect” can also be used as a verb. It means to bring about.

* Talented investigative writers can effect dramatic change in their communities.

7) Than, Then:

“Than” is a conjunction used in a comparison.

* Do you think he is a better writer than you?

“Then” is an adverb indicating time (in the past.)

* I will edit your essay, but then I will expect you to do significant rewriting.

8.) Allusion, Illusion:

An “allusion” is an indirect reference to something.

* Using allusions effectively in your writing can be tricky for inexperienced writers.

An “illusion” is false impression.

* Using overblown words does not give the illusion of genius, but arrogance.

9) Allude, Elude:

“Allude” means to make an indirect reference to something.

* The writer alluded to mistakes made by the editor when explaining his rejection letter.

“Elude” means to escape or avoid detection.

* Not even the best writer can elude making an error at some point.

10) Elicit, Illicit:

“Elicit” is a verb meaning to bring out or draw forth.

* Her essay on prison reform elicited a strong reaction.

“Illicit” is an adjective meaning illegal or unlawful.

* The author’s illicit copying of her assistant’s work led to her downfall.

As with all errors, the best protection against their making it into print is proofreading. But given how easy they are to confuse, consider using the search command in your writing program to find them and then confirm that you have used the correct option.