Not a Lesson To Quickly Read Through

Split me infinitives! Not this lesson again!

          In a review on The Screwtape Letters, the reviewer said about the main character, though a demon, could "no more split an infinitive than do a good deed." If you're like me, still reading grammar books after graduating from high school, then a reminder is needed.

           What is a split infinitive?

            An infinitive is a verb in its most basic form. The verb to run is an infinitive, since it tells us nothing about the time of the action, who performed the action, or even where the action was performed.

            You can use an infinitive to make general statements (To live is the greatest adventure), to continue a previous point (as I just did), or as the second verb that shares a subject with a preceding verb (He wants [main verb] to use [infinitive] the garden hose).



            The issue arises when you place a modifying adverb in between the to and the verb in the infinitive, creating what is known as a split infinitive.

             Examples:


             Worried about his mother at home alone, Jim tried to quickly finish the dance.

             Aaron tried to simply talk to Ariel without shouting.


           As with the fused participle, the above can be adjusted by rearranging the sentence.

           Worried about his mother at home alone, Jim tried to finish the dance quickly.

          Aaron simply tried to talk to Ariel without shouting.

          While not everyone says this is a solid grammatical rule, not using split infinitives shall add a touch of elegance to your writing without losing the sentence's meaning.

           Enough talk, time to exercise. . . .

          Correct the following:

          To seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

          To err is to be human, to forgive is divine.

          To patiently arrive at such a decision is dangerous.

          Jerry wanted to just drive the ball down-court.