To Boldly Go...with Split Infinitives
Moving along from word confusion, let's start talking about verbs! Yay! Today's verb exploration is about split infinitives...
You’ll get divided responses on these little buggers since strict grammarians will say “never, ever split an infinitive,” and easier going ones (like me) will say it’s okay for informal writing, but less so (or not at all) for formal work.
To be or not to be?
Eliza Shakespeare likes to expansively write about spaceships.
The question here is whether or not this sentence is grammatically correct, to which I must sadly say "No." While Eliza is ready to excel at a spaceship adventure story, we must address the split infinitive first.
What is a split infinitive and why is it a big deal?
The basic thing to understand is that an infinitive equals TO + a verb (to run, to yell, to look).
When you split the infinitive, you’re dropping another word in between TO and the verb. This word is usually an adverb, and it's splicing up parts of your sentence. Do such things too often, and your meaning starts to get muddled.
Spock prefers to think objectively. (correct)
To think is the infinitive for this sentence and it’s all in one piece, so it’s a happy infinitive!
"These aren't the split infinitives you're looking for..." Yes, they are! (Yep, I put Star Wars and Star Trek together!)
Captain Picard wants to ultimately keep the tribble as a snuggly pet.
The infinitive in this sentence is split by the word ultimately. TO and the verb should always be together to avoid a split infinitive:
To fix this, you simply need to move the adverb to a more formal-friendly location. Typically, you want to keep the adverb close to the thing it's modifying. In Picard's sentence, the want is the thing that's finalized (or ultimate), so ultimately goes before wants. It's his final decision.
If you put it afterwards--wants ultimately to keep--then you're saying that Picard has other options besides keeping the tribble, like releasing it into the wild or infusing it with Khan blood--as some do, but in the end, he wants to have it only as a pet.
Where you move your adverb is up to you. It comes down to which meaning you want to express most.
And then there was Eliza Shakespeare.
Eliza Shakespeare likes to write expansively about spaceships.
The infinitive to write is in one piece and Eliza is writing lots and lots about spaceships. All is right with the world. 
Happy Writing!
Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips: Split Infinitives
Grammar Bytes!: The Infinitive Phrase
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