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I think there is an error in the following sentence:

The government has asked individuals with income of over ₹10 lakhs to electronic file tax returns for the year 2011-12, something which was optional till last year.

In my opinion, the correct sentence would be one of the following:

The government has asked individuals having an income of over ₹10 lakhs to file tax returns for the year 2011-12 electronically, something which was optional till last year.

or

The government has asked individuals having an income of over ₹10 lakhs to file tax returns electronically for the year 2011-12, something which was optional till last year.

But some people are arguing with me, saying that the use of electronically is wrong here and insisting that the following sentence is right:

The government has asked individuals with income of over ₹10 lakhs to file electronic tax returns for the year 2011-12, something which was optional till last year.

I searched for this on internet I found the usage as,

The government has asked individuals having an income of over ₹10 lakhs to electronically file tax returns for the year 2011-12, something which was optional till last year.

But my book says electronic is correct.

Which is correct among them? What is the correct place to use adverb in a sentence? Can we split infinitives? Some books are objecting split infinitives. Please explain the relevant points of grammar. Also, if these are incorrect, please explain to me any other possible corrections for this.

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  • The government has asked individuals having an income of over ₹10 lakhs to file tax returns for the year 2011-12 electronically, something which was optional till last year.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Jul 29, 2016 at 11:47
  • Answer 3 on the paper (the adverb is required), though I've tidied 2 to be more idiomatic.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Jul 29, 2016 at 11:51
  • Both are correct as regards the English. Jargonese may prefer the way your contacts suggest (but this doesn't affect grammaticality). Answer '3' pinpoints the error, but there is more than one way to correct it.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Jul 29, 2016 at 12:02
  • "File" is a verb. What kind of word to you use to modify a verb?
    – Hot Licks
    Jul 29, 2016 at 12:11
  • 3
    Note that you've given two different sequences above -- "to electronic file tax returns" and "to file electronic tax returns". The first is invalid syntax but the second is valid.
    – Hot Licks
    Jul 29, 2016 at 15:42

1 Answer 1

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Corrected as below. The government has asked individuals with income of over ₹10 lakhs to electronically file tax returns for the year 2011-12, something which was optional till last year.

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