diff --git a/lib/src/back_end/solution.dart b/lib/src/back_end/solution.dart
index c2e7c306..092e9332 100644
--- a/lib/src/back_end/solution.dart
+++ b/lib/src/back_end/solution.dart
@@ -26,7 +26,9 @@ class PieceStateSet {
   PieceStateSet._(this._pieces, this._pieceStates);
 
   /// The state this solution selects for [piece].
-  State pieceState(Piece piece) => _pieceStates[piece] ?? State.initial;
+  ///
+  /// If no state has been selected, defaults to the first state.
+  State pieceState(Piece piece) => _pieceStates[piece] ?? piece.states.first;
 
   /// Gets the first piece that doesn't have a state selected yet, or `null` if
   /// all pieces have selected states.
@@ -86,9 +88,6 @@ class Solution implements Comparable<Solution> {
     if (piece == null) return const [];
 
     return [
-      // All pieces support a default state.
-      Solution(root, pageWidth, _state.cloneWith(piece, State.initial)),
-
       for (var state in piece.states)
         Solution(root, pageWidth, _state.cloneWith(piece, state))
     ];
diff --git a/lib/src/back_end/solver.dart b/lib/src/back_end/solver.dart
index 7acc6d48..26effa93 100644
--- a/lib/src/back_end/solver.dart
+++ b/lib/src/back_end/solver.dart
@@ -14,10 +14,9 @@ import 'solution.dart';
 /// possible states, so it isn't feasible to brute force. There are a few
 /// techniques we use to avoid that:
 ///
-/// -   All pieces default to being in [State.initial]. Every piece is
-///     implemented such that that state has no line splits (or only mandatory
-///     ones) and zero cost. Thus, it tries solutions with a minimum number of
-///     line splits first.
+/// -   The initial state for each piece has no line splits or only mandatory
+///     ones. Thus, it tries solutions with a minimum number of line splits
+///     first.
 ///
 /// -   Solutions are explored in priority order. We explore solutions with the
 ///     the lowest cost first. This way, as soon as we find a solution with no
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/assign.dart b/lib/src/piece/assign.dart
index 032219fa..53960216 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/assign.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/assign.dart
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import 'piece.dart';
 ///
 /// These constructs can be formatted three ways:
 ///
-/// [State.initial] No split at all:
+/// [State.unsplit] No split at all:
 ///
 /// ```
 /// var x = 123;
@@ -60,13 +60,14 @@ class AssignPiece extends Piece {
       : _isValueDelimited = isValueDelimited;
 
   @override
-  List<State> get states => [if (_isValueDelimited) _insideValue, _atEquals];
+  List<State> get additionalStates =>
+      [if (_isValueDelimited) _insideValue, _atEquals];
 
   @override
   void format(CodeWriter writer, State state) {
     // A split in either child piece forces splitting after the "=" unless it's
     // a delimited expression.
-    if (state == State.initial) writer.setAllowNewlines(false);
+    if (state == State.unsplit) writer.setAllowNewlines(false);
 
     // Don't indent a split delimited expression.
     if (state != _insideValue) writer.setIndent(Indent.expression);
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/block.dart b/lib/src/piece/block.dart
index e6c0aee0..e11ec930 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/block.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/block.dart
@@ -19,24 +19,22 @@ class BlockPiece extends Piece {
   /// The closing delimiter.
   final Piece rightBracket;
 
-  /// Whether the block should always split its contents.
-  ///
-  /// True for most blocks, but false for enums and blocks containing only
-  /// inline block comments.
-  final bool _alwaysSplit;
-
+  /// If [alwaysSplit] is true, then the block should always split its contents.
+  /// This is true for most blocks, but false for enums and blocks containing
+  /// only inline block comments.
   BlockPiece(this.leftBracket, this.contents, this.rightBracket,
-      {bool alwaysSplit = true})
-      : _alwaysSplit = alwaysSplit;
+      {bool alwaysSplit = true}) {
+    if (alwaysSplit) pin(State.split);
+  }
 
   @override
-  List<State> get states => _alwaysSplit ? const [] : const [State.split];
+  List<State> get additionalStates => const [State.split];
 
   @override
   void format(CodeWriter writer, State state) {
     writer.format(leftBracket);
 
-    if (_alwaysSplit || state == State.split) {
+    if (state == State.split) {
       if (contents.isNotEmpty) {
         writer.newline(indent: Indent.block);
         writer.format(contents);
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/do_while.dart b/lib/src/piece/do_while.dart
index 6ac28a4f..10a9ce16 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/do_while.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/do_while.dart
@@ -12,9 +12,6 @@ class DoWhilePiece extends Piece {
 
   DoWhilePiece(this._body, this._condition);
 
-  @override
-  List<State> get states => const [];
-
   @override
   void format(CodeWriter writer, State state) {
     writer.setIndent(Indent.none);
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/function.dart b/lib/src/piece/function.dart
index e6a652d4..e8201211 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/function.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/function.dart
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ class FunctionTypePiece extends Piece {
   FunctionTypePiece(this._returnType, this._signature);
 
   @override
-  List<State> get states => const [State.split];
+  List<State> get additionalStates => const [State.split];
 
   @override
   void format(CodeWriter writer, State state) {
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/if.dart b/lib/src/piece/if.dart
index 4b041982..32d84abe 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/if.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/if.dart
@@ -30,14 +30,14 @@ class IfPiece extends Piece {
 
   /// If there is at least one else or else-if clause, then it always splits.
   @override
-  List<State> get states => _isUnbracedIfThen ? const [State.split] : const [];
+  List<State> get additionalStates => [if (_isUnbracedIfThen) State.split];
 
   @override
   void format(CodeWriter writer, State state) {
     if (_isUnbracedIfThen) {
       // A split in the condition or statement forces moving the entire
       // statement to the next line.
-      writer.setAllowNewlines(state != State.initial);
+      writer.setAllowNewlines(state != State.unsplit);
 
       var section = _sections.single;
       writer.format(section.header);
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/import.dart b/lib/src/piece/import.dart
index e3d6be40..9314dcb1 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/import.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/import.dart
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import 'piece.dart';
 ///
 /// Combinators can be split like so:
 ///
-/// [State.initial] All on one line:
+/// [State.unsplit] All on one line:
 ///
 /// ```
 /// import 'animals.dart' show Ant, Bat hide Cat, Dog;
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ class ImportPiece extends Piece {
   }
 
   @override
-  List<State> get states => [
+  List<State> get additionalStates => [
         _beforeCombinators,
         if (_combinators.length > 1) ...[
           _firstCombinator,
@@ -126,13 +126,13 @@ class ImportPiece extends Piece {
 
     if (_combinators.isNotEmpty) {
       _combinators[0].format(writer,
-          splitKeyword: state != State.initial,
+          splitKeyword: state != State.unsplit,
           splitNames: state == _firstCombinator || state == State.split);
     }
 
     if (_combinators.length > 1) {
       _combinators[1].format(writer,
-          splitKeyword: state != State.initial,
+          splitKeyword: state != State.unsplit,
           splitNames: state == _secondCombinator || state == State.split);
     }
   }
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/infix.dart b/lib/src/piece/infix.dart
index b6227243..5cee4b97 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/infix.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/infix.dart
@@ -22,25 +22,19 @@ class InfixPiece extends Piece {
   InfixPiece(this.operands);
 
   @override
-  List<State> get states => const [State.split];
+  List<State> get additionalStates => const [State.split];
 
   @override
   void format(CodeWriter writer, State state) {
-    switch (state) {
-      case State.initial:
-        writer.setAllowNewlines(false);
-        for (var i = 0; i < operands.length; i++) {
-          writer.format(operands[i]);
-
-          if (i < operands.length - 1) writer.space();
-        }
+    if (state == State.unsplit) {
+      writer.setAllowNewlines(false);
+    } else {
+      writer.setNesting(Indent.expression);
+    }
 
-      case State.split:
-        writer.setNesting(Indent.expression);
-        for (var i = 0; i < operands.length; i++) {
-          writer.format(operands[i]);
-          if (i < operands.length - 1) writer.newline();
-        }
+    for (var i = 0; i < operands.length; i++) {
+      writer.format(operands[i]);
+      if (i < operands.length - 1) writer.splitIf(state == State.split);
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/list.dart b/lib/src/piece/list.dart
index cdb54a40..dcf54d91 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/list.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/list.dart
@@ -55,15 +55,12 @@ class ListPiece extends Piece {
       this._isTypeList);
 
   @override
-  List<State> get states {
-    // Don't split between an empty pair of brackets.
-    if (_arguments.isEmpty) return const [];
-
-    // Type lists are more expensive to split.
-    if (_isTypeList) return const [_splitTypes];
-
-    return const [State.split];
-  }
+  List<State> get additionalStates => [
+        if (_isTypeList)
+          _splitTypes // Type lists are more expensive to split.
+        else if (_arguments.isNotEmpty)
+          State.split // Don't split between an empty pair of brackets.
+      ];
 
   @override
   void format(CodeWriter writer, State state) {
@@ -78,7 +75,7 @@ class ListPiece extends Piece {
     // });
     // ```
     switch (state) {
-      case State.initial:
+      case State.unsplit:
         // All arguments on one line with no trailing comma.
         writer.setAllowNewlines(false);
         for (var i = 0; i < _arguments.length; i++) {
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/piece.dart b/lib/src/piece/piece.dart
index 82493447..dd402646 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/piece.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/piece.dart
@@ -12,15 +12,41 @@ import '../back_end/code_writer.dart';
 /// formatting and line splitting. The final output is then determined by
 /// deciding which pieces split and how.
 abstract class Piece {
-  /// The ordered list of indexes identifying each way this piece can split.
+  /// The ordered list of ways this piece may split.
   ///
-  /// Each piece determines what each value in the list represents. The list
-  /// returned by this function should be sorted so that earlier states in the
-  /// list compare less than later states.
+  /// If the piece is aready pinned, then this is just the one pinned state.
+  /// Otherwise, it's [State.unsplit], which all pieces support, followed by
+  /// any other [additionalStates].
+  List<State> get states {
+    if (_pinnedState case var state?) {
+      return [state];
+    } else {
+      return [State.unsplit, ...additionalStates];
+    }
+  }
+
+  /// The ordered list of all possible ways this piece could split.
+  ///
+  /// Piece subclasses should override this if they support being split in
+  /// multiple different ways.
+  ///
+  /// Each piece determines what each [State] in the list represents, including
+  /// the automatically included [State.unsplit]. The list returned by this
+  /// function should be sorted so that earlier states in the list compare less
+  /// than later states.
+  List<State> get additionalStates => const [];
+
+  /// If this piece has been pinned to a specific state, that state.
   ///
-  /// In addition to the values returned here, each piece should implicitly
-  /// support a [State.initial] which is the least split form the piece allows.
-  List<State> get states;
+  /// This is used when a piece which otherwise supports multiple ways of
+  /// splitting should be eagerly constrained to a specific splitting choice
+  /// because of the context where it appears. For example, if conditional
+  /// expressions are nested, then all of them are forced to split because it's
+  /// too hard to read nested conditionals all on one line. We can express that
+  /// by pinning the Piece used for a conditional expression to its split state
+  /// when surrounded by or containing other conditionals.
+  State? get pinnedState => _pinnedState;
+  State? _pinnedState;
 
   /// Given that this piece is in [state], use [writer] to produce its formatted
   /// output.
@@ -28,6 +54,11 @@ abstract class Piece {
 
   /// Invokes [callback] on each piece contained in this piece.
   void forEachChild(void Function(Piece piece) callback);
+
+  /// Forces this piece to always use [state].
+  void pin(State state) {
+    _pinnedState = state;
+  }
 }
 
 /// A simple atomic piece of code.
@@ -49,9 +80,6 @@ class TextPiece extends Piece {
   /// multiline strings, etc.
   bool _containsNewline = false;
 
-  @override
-  List<State> get states => const [];
-
   /// Whether the last line of this piece's text ends with [text].
   bool endsWith(String text) => _lines.isNotEmpty && _lines.last.endsWith(text);
 
@@ -96,7 +124,7 @@ class TextPiece extends Piece {
 /// Each state identifies one way that a piece can be split into multiple lines.
 /// Each piece determines how its states are interpreted.
 class State implements Comparable<State> {
-  static const initial = State(0, cost: 0);
+  static const unsplit = State(0, cost: 0);
 
   /// The maximally split state a piece can be in.
   ///
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/postfix.dart b/lib/src/piece/postfix.dart
index eb933687..432ea012 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/postfix.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/postfix.dart
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ class PostfixPiece extends Piece {
   PostfixPiece(this.pieces);
 
   @override
-  List<State> get states => const [State.split];
+  List<State> get additionalStates => const [State.split];
 
   @override
   void format(CodeWriter writer, State state) {
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class PostfixPiece extends Piece {
     // too.
     // TODO(tall): This will need to be revisited when we use PostfixPiece for
     // actual postfix operators where this isn't always desired.
-    if (state == State.initial) writer.setAllowNewlines(false);
+    if (state == State.unsplit) writer.setAllowNewlines(false);
 
     for (var piece in pieces) {
       writer.splitIf(state == State.split, indent: Indent.expression);
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/sequence.dart b/lib/src/piece/sequence.dart
index 91642c34..08b3db35 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/sequence.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/sequence.dart
@@ -22,9 +22,6 @@ class SequencePiece extends Piece {
   /// Whether this sequence has any contents.
   bool get isNotEmpty => _contents.isNotEmpty;
 
-  @override
-  List<State> get states => const [];
-
   @override
   void format(CodeWriter writer, State state) {
     for (var i = 0; i < _contents.length; i++) {
diff --git a/lib/src/piece/variable.dart b/lib/src/piece/variable.dart
index b4b5ba78..3eb88881 100644
--- a/lib/src/piece/variable.dart
+++ b/lib/src/piece/variable.dart
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ class VariablePiece extends Piece {
       : _hasType = hasType;
 
   @override
-  List<State> get states => [
+  List<State> get additionalStates => [
         if (_variables.length > 1) _betweenVariables,
         if (_hasType) _afterType,
       ];
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ class VariablePiece extends Piece {
     if (state == _betweenVariables) writer.setIndent(Indent.expression);
 
     // Force variables to split if an initializer does.
-    if (_variables.length > 1 && state == State.initial) {
+    if (_variables.length > 1 && state == State.unsplit) {
       writer.setAllowNewlines(false);
     }
 
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ class VariablePiece extends Piece {
 
     for (var i = 0; i < _variables.length; i++) {
       // Split between variables.
-      if (i > 0) writer.splitIf(state != State.initial);
+      if (i > 0) writer.splitIf(state != State.unsplit);
 
       writer.format(_variables[i]);
     }