split infinitives
Would a better construction include the following wording?
...to import quickly a document.
See example:
I believe that this program is unduly difficult in its capability to quickly import a document.
asked Oct 03 '12 at 21:40
Joanne Coogan
New member
Joanne Coogan
New member
2 answers 
To keep some sort of mention about the speed of importing documents, I'll suggest this sentence.
This program is difficult and slow when importing documents.
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answered Oct 04 '12 at 04:25
Patty T
Grammarly Fellow
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Your placement of the adverb modifying import is fine. In fact, you have provided a good example of exactly why you can and should split infinitives in certain cases.
The awkwardness in your sentence is caused by the fact that you are attemting to mention three properties of the program (ease of use, capability and speed) and have presented them as two (difficult capability and quick).
Patty's suggestion does the job perfectly.
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edited Oct 04 '12 at 10:10
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