split infinitive
Adverb-interrupted verb phrase
A split infinitive places an adverb between "to" and its verb: to boldly go, to really understand.
Traditional grammar rules forbid splitting infinitives, but the prohibition has little basis in how English actually works.
Avoiding the split often produces awkward phrasing.
Most modern usage guides consider split infinitives acceptable when they sound natural.
Enforcing linguistic correctness
- descriptivismDocumenting actual language use
- grammariansScholars of language rules
- usageAct of employing something
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Strunk and White · pedantry · correctness · traditionalists · linguistic purism · proscription · language change · rules
prescriptivism
Enforcing linguistic correctness
- descriptivismDocumenting actual language use
- grammariansScholars of language rules
- usageAct of employing something
style guides · Strunk and White · pedantry · correctness · traditionalists · linguistic purism · proscription · language change · rules · stylistic choice
verb
Action-expressing word
construction · phrase · sentence · structure · to · conjugation · tense · aspect · clause · predicate
emphasis
Stress given to something
stress · nuance · clarity · word order · placement · pacing · tone · readability
- grammar termsnoun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun
- grammar debatesirregardless, ain't, singular they, could of, would of
- verb grammarconjugation, tense, verb form, verb tense, participle
- infinitivesto be, to do, to go, to make, to get
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- grammardeclension, pronouns, adjectives, conjugation, nouns
split, splitting, splits, splitter, infinitive, unsplit, hairsplitting, splitters, infiniteness