But 1 doesnt work like standard examples of split infinitives. Split infinitive definition of split infinitive by. The earliest use of the term split infinitive on record dates from 1890. By split infinitive people mean the construction illustrated in to really succeed. Some people think it is incorrect to use split infinitives. One example is in the american heritage book of english usage. Since avoiding the separation of to and the verb here would occasion a major rethink of how to construct the whole sentence, nobody ever. Your usual split infinitives alternate with two other structures, a preposed structure with the modifier before the to, and a postposed structure with the modifier later in the sentence, usually at the end of the infinitival vp. The idea that you shouldnt put an adverb in the middle of an infinitive was mentioned earlier but was most prominently introduced by henry alford, the dean of canterbury, in his 1864 book the queens english. If you think back to your eleventhgrade english class, or if youve ever gone toetotoe with a pedantic member of the grammar police, youve probably heard that its not okay to split an infinitive.
Heres a small sample of chandlers 1947 poem lines to a lady with an unsplit infinitive for your edification. But it seems unlikely that the fowler brothers some writers came from the u. In the english language, a split infinitive or cleft infinitive is a grammatical construction in which. Split infinitive is the term used for the legendary bogeyman we confront here. The most famous example is star treks to boldly go where no one has gone before. A split infinitive is a structure in which an adverb is put between to and the infinitive of a verb, as in to really experience it. Some of his writing for language log is collected in the book far from the. But if this is an appeal to authority, it suffers from not having authority on its side. This lesson will explain what an infinitive is, why you shouldnt split it, and how to revise when. When a graceful alternative exists, avoid the construction. The split infinitive in electronic corpora concordia university.
Providing writing, editing and communication services to charities, nonprofits and progressive organizations. Even quite conservative grammar and usage books agree that it is not, but. While this strikes a blow for linguistic sanity, it is not an unmixed blessing. Language log when i split an infinitive, god damn it. From lane greene at the economist, the ban on split infinitives is an. A split infinitive is when other words creep into the middle of an english infinitive. Ergo, since you cant split infinitives in latin, you shouldnt be able to split them in english either. So perhaps the split verb rule was purely a folk superstition, elevated to a point of elite principle in the early 20th century by some nowforgotten law professor in texas or louisiana. An opinion that scrutinizes language should not have any split infinitives. Its often claimed that people objected to split infinitives on the basis of analogy with latin merriamwebsters post repeats this claim.
Split infinitive definition is an infinitive with to having a modifier between the to and the verbal as in to really start. The only rationale for condemning the construction is based on a false analogy with. Language log to more than justify the split infinitive. The economist s prohibition of split infinitives within its pages has provided a steady supply of topics for blogospheric descriptivists especially those with the initials gkp.
And this being language log, i will follow it with a light dessert of cheap science. The independents john rentoul and the timess oliver kamm talk superstition, convention and pedantry. Language log the true history of the split verb rule. I am a 7thgrade teacher and often use it for language arts and world history. Definition of split infinitive written for english language learners from the merriamwebster learners dictionary with audio pronunciations, usage examples, and countnoncount noun labels. Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples log in dictionary. Culture books features to split infinitives or not. That is, the magazines style guide insists that the split infinitive construction.
One of the reasons claimed for the prejudice against split infinitives is that latin does not split infinitives, and latin was considered to be one of the superior languages, having been for so many years associated with higher learning. And the verb to be as employed by me is often and lightly split. In latin, an infinitive is a single word, like ire, and it cant be split. A split infinitive is a structure in which an adverb is put between to and the. In 1924, fowler cowrote an entire book on the split infinitive. The safest choice is to avoid splitting infinitives. There aint no grammar that equals a hammer to nail down a cutrate wit.