Disruptive modifiers interrupt the connections between parts of a sentence, making it hard for readers to follow the progress of the thought. Most disruptive modifiers are adverbial clauses or phrases that appear between the parts of a verb phrase, between a subject and a verb, or between a verb and an object.

Separating the parts of the verb phrase, will and lose, disrupts the flow of the sentence.

Separating the subject books from the verb were discarded is awkward.

Separating the verb bought from the object a secondhand car makes it hard to follow the thought.

Splitting infinitives

A modifier placed between the to and verb of an infinitive (to boldly go) is known as a split infinitive. Once considered a serious writing error, split infinitives are no longer taboo. Few readers will object to a split infinitive in a clear and understandable sentence.

Students need to really know the material to pass the exam.

Sometimes, however, split infinitives can be distracting to readers—especially when more than one word comes between the parts of the infinitive. In such cases, move the modifier before or after the infinitive, or reword the sentence, to remove the distracting interruption.