Can i split infinitives

It was the Victorians who decided that splitting an infinitive was a grammatical error. Now, researchers says, there is good reason to consign the rule to history.

Appearance: Hideous or invisible, depending on your point of view. An infinitive is one of the many forms that a verb can take. A split infinitive is when other words creep into the middle of an English infinitive.

The Victorians decided that splitting an infinitive was a grammatical mistake, and some people still agree with them. Researchers at Lancaster University and Cambridge University Press have concluded that split infinitives are now nearly three times as common in British speech as they were in the early s.

Back to Grammar tips You may also be interested in Dangling participles? Ending sentences with prepositions Matching verbs to collective nouns. Word of the day. Trending Words Most popular in the world. Are You Learning English? Basic Guidelines For English Spellings. In speech, the word really is often placed between to and the verb: Non-standard: It would take incredible strength to really forget all her bad childhood memories.

Awkward: It would take incredible strength to forget really all her bad childhood memories. Non-standard: It's hard to completely follow his reasoning.

Awkward: It's hard to follow completely his reasoning. Preferred: It's hard to follow his reasoning completely. Consider the following examples: Non-standard: The patient was told to occasionally monitor her blood sugar level.

Correct: The patient was told occasionally to monitor her blood sugar level. Correct: The patient was told to monitor her blood sugar level occasionally. The best position of the modifier occasionally is right after the verb monitor as in: Correct: The patient was told to monitor occasionally her blood sugar level.

In formal writing, sentences in which there is more than one element in the infinitive phrase should be avoided: Non-standard: Our company decided to legally and rightfully seek damages for fraudulent use of the company documents. Sometimes it may be necessary to rephrase the sentence to maintain the correct form and meaning: Preferred: Our company decided to seek damages in a legal and rightful way for fraudulent use of the company documents.

Or Preferred: Legally and rightfully , our company decided to seek damages for fraudulent use of the company documents. She decided to instantly quit her job. She decided to quit her job instantly. It would take incredible strength to really forget all her bad childhood memories. It would take incredible strength to forget really all her bad childhood memories.