Do you know what a split infinitive is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on split infinitives, including the definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
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According to Thought Co, a split infinitive in English grammar is when one or more words come between the infinitive marker to and the verb. This is also known as a cleft infinitive, and can be regarded as tmesis. While these are often under prohibition based on the infinitive rules in the Queen’s English, many writers like Robert Burns, Daniel Defoe, Benjamin Franklin, William Wordsworth, Raymond Chandler, George Bernard Shaw, Abraham Lincoln, John Donne, Henry Alford, Lord Byron, Mark Twain, Thomas Hardy, Dean of Canterbury, Rudyard Kipling, Theodore Roosevelt, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, George Eliot, Henry James, Henry Watson Fowler, and Willa Cather all used them. They claim that the only rationale for condemning the construction is based on a false analogy with Latin. The split infinitive rule was once a violation, but if the meaning of the sentence is clear, most English speakers are not purists about them. They no longer have such hold on forms of expression as fellow grammar rules, and their own usage is more preferential.
What are split infinitive examples?
A split infinitive can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of split infinitives from Grammar Monster, Thought Co and Your Dictionary that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use. Try to use the term split infinitive today or notice when someone else is using a split infinitive.
(Kayla Perrin, The Delta Sisters. St. Martin’s Press, 2004
(Eric Dash, “A New Challenge for 2 Ailing Banks.” The New York Times, Oct. 21, 2009
Juan played his guitar to expertly entertain the audience.
Heather promised to always love her husband.
“Her first class wasn’t until the afternoon. That would give her time to quickly head to the house, then come back and grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria.”
We need criminals to identify ourselves with, to secretly envy and to stoutly punish. They do for us the forbidden, illegal things we wish to do. (Psychiatrist Karl A. Menninger)
The rain ruined my plan to carefully tend the garden.
To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer. (Biologist Paul R. Ehrlich)
We ordered a pizza to generously share with the family.
“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before.” (Introductory speech of the original series of Star Trek)
“Milton was too busy to much miss his wife.”
Today is a great day to finally go to the beach.
This is the truck I hope to someday buy.
We expect our profits to completely double in the next quarter.
(Samuel Johnson, Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, 1779-1781
“News of the government’s plan to on average halve pay for the top 25 employees of firms that took two bailouts ricocheted down Wall Street on Wednesday.”
(Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat, 1889
The trick is to actually lift it.
My mother began to delicately pick up the broken glass.
“It seemed that he had caught [the fish] himself, years ago, when he was quite a lad; not by any art or skill, but by that unaccountable luck that appears to always wait upon a boy when he plays the wag from school.”
(Peter Fenves, Arresting Language: From Leibniz to Benjamin. Stanford University Press, 2001
(Norman Lewis, How to Speak Better English. Thomas Y. Crowell, 1948
(Peter R. Henriques, Realistic Visionary. University of Virginia Press, 2006)
Harry tried to quietly turn the doorknob.
“Hamilton from boyhood on was an overachiever, one who found it necessary to more than compensate for his feelings of inadequacy.”
“I was wise enough to never grow up while fooling most people into believing I had.”(attributed to Margaret Mead)
“The phrase ‘to solemnly swear’ is at best an explication of what is implied in the idea of swearing, at worst a pleonasm.”
“To deliberately split an infinitive, puristic teaching to the contrary notwithstanding, is correct and acceptable English.”
I only want to quickly talk to you.
What are other grammar terms?
There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these terms because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of grammatical devices from OED and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you.
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.
Kevin
January 1, 2022
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