17 Feb 2003

The infinitive is formed by a verb and "to", as in "I need to go."
A split infinitive occurs when words or punctuation are inserted between "to" and the verb.
Example: "I need to immediately start my project."

The best-known split infinitive of the last thirty years is "To boldly go..." from Star Trek. The phrase seems perfectly clear, so what's wrong with it?
Possibly nothing, according to many modern references on English grammar. One claim is that since Latin infinitives couldn’t be split ("to love" is "amare"), it was arbitrarily decided that one mustn't split them in English.

I don't completely agree. Following the above logic, it can also be said that most languages can't split infinitives, therefore they obviously don't need to split infinitives, so why do we need to do so in English?
However, a better reason to avoid splitting infinitives is to maintain clear sentence structure.
Example: "It would be prudent to carefully, so as to not appear eager, proceed in this action."
Can you even find the infinitive "to proceed"?

Because many authorities seem to be making up their own rules, I'll offer some rules which I believe preserve the logic of syntax:
Suggestion 1: Treat negation and adverb modification as verbs. E.g., if “not go” and “quickly go” were verbs, then "to not go" and "to quickly go" would be legitimate infinitives.
Suggestion 2: Now that we have broadened the set of infinitives, avoid splitting them, particularly with punctuation.

These adjustments would permit "to boldly go", and Shakespeare could have said "To be or to not be", but awkward constructions such as “…to quietly, so as to avoid notice, enter” would be prevented.

- Andrew Hadley

© 2003 Halway Systems

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