A split infinitive is when an adverb is inserted between “to” and an uninflected verb. It is controversial whether it is grammatically incorrect, but some prefer to avoid it in formal writing. Infinitives begin with “to” and end with a verb in its simplest form.
A split infinitive is a type of linguistic construction common in English that consists of a sentence that begins with the word “to” and ends with a verb in its uninflected form but has an adverb in between. For example, the sentence “speak boldly” is a split infinitive. Many people consider dividing infinitives to be a grammatical error, but this statement is controversial. Grammar books and style guides are often silent on the rule or state that it is best to avoid dividing infinitives if possible, but they don’t specifically state that it is incorrect, and according to some grammar experts there is no valid rule against it.
When you want to understand what a split infinitive is, it helps to start with the ability to recognize infinities. An infinitive is a verbal construction that begins with the word “to” and ends with a verb in its simplest form. Some examples of infinitives include phrases like “run”, “love”, “see”, “talk” and “eat”. If the verb is in another form, however, it cannot be part of an infinitive, as it is incorrect to say or write “eat” or “go”. A split infinitive is created by inserting an adverb between the word “to” and the uninflected verb.
Sometimes, a person may choose to split an infinitive by inserting another word between the “to” and the verb. This is typically done to make the infinitive more descriptive. For example, a person might want to say “go” but also add the word “boldly,” as in “go boldly.” Addition in the adverb can significantly change the effect of the sentence. For example, “eat quickly” has a different meaning from “eat”. Often, editors and teachers who consider split infinitives poor grammatical constructions instead prefer that the adverb be attached at the end of the sentence, as in “eat quickly” rather than “eat quickly”.
While there are many sources who say there are no hard and fast rules against split infinitives, there are also many grammar experts, teachers, and editors who consider them to be bad choices, or at the very least, wrong. For this reason, an individual may do well to avoid them in formal types of writing. Also, it’s often better to keep split infinitives simple, like “read quickly” rather than “read quickly and cheerfully.”
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