I’ve never given it much thought, but being a writer and a bit eccentric, I thought it’d be fun to look at split infinitives.
It seems splitting infinitives annoy some people, while poets and song writers can use them quite often and their use flows with grace. I’ve even used them myself at an attempt to sound more poetic.
Not sure what a split infinitive is? That’s okay; it’s not something people talk about everyday—not even in writing circles. In fact, most of us haven’t given it much thought since high school.
When an adverb is placed between the word “to” and the infinitive form of a verb—it forms a split infinitive. It’s traditionally considered incorrect, but where would Star Trek be if their catch phrase wasn’t, “to boldly go where no man has gone before?” To go boldly just doesn’t sound the same, nor does it grab your attention.
To understand a split infinitive a bit better, it’s necessary to know what an infinitive verb is. An infinitive verb is the basic form of a verb that is not affected by tense, number or person. It’s almost always preceded by the word “to.”
Generally in English, the infinitive consists of two words and if there’s an associated adverb it should precede the word “to” or follow the verb (boldly to go, to rock gently, to go boldly). But this rule is often ignored.
Often people will cause a split infinitive with several adverbs or phrases (i.e. We want to boldly and without reservation go where no man has gone before.)
Some writers (and speakers) avoid split infinitives all together. Unless it reads well or sounds more poetic to use it, they feel it’s in bad style and taste. Split infinitives can also affect the meaning and can lead to ambiguity.
Example from Guide to Good Writing*: They decided to cautiously advance may be rendered as they decided to advance cautiously or as they decided cautiously to advance—each has a different meaning.
In my personal opinion on split infinitives, I think it’s all about the context and style of the writing. It works great in poetic verse, but not so well in business and formal writing.
What’s your opinion?
*Guide to Good Writing by Martin H. Manser.
Some rules need to be broken. "To boldly go" is not only more poetic, it paints a different picture than "to go boldly," which just seems much less bold. "To boldly go" is more precise in conveying the point. What is the point of having a grammar rule that rules out precision?