split infinitive lesson

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Bloggercises - November 2008

Dark corners of the language: the split infinitive

November 30th 2008 06:38

Take an infinitive and split it and listen to the howls. How dare you commit such a crime against the English language, they will cry. It is a common complaint and even those who don't know precisely what a split infinitive is have been heard to sneer.

What is it? For the answer to that, let us turn to Star Trek, the iconic television version which introduced every one of its episodes with a split infinitive: "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."

When a verb is preceded by to (to eat, to drink, to walk), interposing a third word is to split the infinitive. To slowly walk, for example, is to split thoroughly. If the mission of the Enterprise had been to go boldly, rather than to boldly go, its travels would have been clear of the stigma of a grammatical crime.

Right?

Well, actually, no.

To split an infinitive is not incorrect. It is disputed, at times hotly, but it is not against the rules of grammar. The venerable Henry Fowler wrote, "No other grammatical issue has so divided English speakers." He shows which side he is on, however, in his Modern English Usage, by calling the rule against splitting the infinitive a "superstition".

The definition of the term split infinitive in the 2,672-page Shorter Oxford Dictionary (Third Edition) includes no mention of illegality, but does include an example, written by no less a luminary of the language than Lord Byron: "To sit on rocks, to muse o'er flood and fell; To slowly trace the forest's shady scene."

The perception that splitting an infinitive is ungrammatical stems from the fact that to do so is often considered poor style. The classic example is, "Writers should learn to not split infinitives." The anti-split school of opinion grew quickly in England in the 19th century, a time when the practice suddenly grew in popularity. The debate continues to rage in the UK today.

In the US, the debate rages not at all. They have always - well, at least since the advent of Star Trek, been content to boldly split infinitives. This is despite the advice of Strunk and White, that great voice of authority on American English. It says on P58, "There is precedent from the 14th century down for interposing an adverb between to and the infinitive it governs, but the construction should be avoided unless the writer wishes to place unusual stress on the adverb."

In other words, sometimes advisable, often inadvisable, but never wrong.

So, next time you hear someone ridiculing the use of a split infinitive, tell them to go read Fowler or Byron or Strunk or White. Or politely suggest they try rewording the following - the population is expected to more than double in the next ten years - without splitting the infinitive.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Grammar, Split infinitives, Writing

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18 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Morgan Bell

November 30th 2008 07:52

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i never really knew what a "split infinitive" was before i read this, but if Byron was doing it i guess it cant be that bad!

great article, very informative!

Comment by Chris Champion

November 30th 2008 08:33

moneywhither
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Thank you Morgan. It's fun for me to write these things, but it's a lot more fun to think of people reading them and learning something.

Comment by Janet Collins

November 30th 2008 11:32

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I never quite understood what the whole objection to split infinitives really was. After all, most things flow better if you ignore this rule - as you pointed out.

Comment by James Rickard

November 30th 2008 17:48

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I wonder how much money the guy who wrote the beginning of Star Trek made despite the split infinitive.

Comment by Chris Champion

November 30th 2008 19:01

moneywhither
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Good point James. And I wonder if he had any idea at the time how widely known his words would become. Like the young graphic arts student who was paid a few dollars to design a logo for a small sports shoe company. Hmm, she thought, what about a swoosh?

Comment by Chris Champion

November 30th 2008 19:05

moneywhither
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Janet, we will always have two types of people: those who create and those who critique

Comment by Norm

November 30th 2008 20:20

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I never really knew what one was, either.

Comment by Chris Champion

November 30th 2008 21:13

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Norm, you surprise me as I always thought your writing style was inspired by Byron.

Comment by Norm

November 30th 2008 21:21

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Lord, no. I much prefer Coleridge and Colonel Henry Blake. I find it hard to actually stomach any of these chaps. They just don't agree with me. Let that be a lesson to you

Comment by Chris Champion

November 30th 2008 21:32

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A split stomach. Sounds infinitively painful.

Comment by Lady Henrietta Muddling

December 1st 2008 02:58

Potter in a Harry

Chris,

Great post.

I'm not being a smart arse, I just love word challenges. In answer to your rewording challenge, I would politely say:

In the next ten years, the population is expected to be more than double what it is now.

I'm just as comfortable with the split infinitive because it's more economical.

Comment by Chris Champion

December 1st 2008 03:10

moneywhither
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Thank you, and well reworded. But as you say, it's about economy. We know that the Trio of Literary Gods (Orwell, Byron and Norm) would not hesitate to shove an adjective up an infinitive where appropriate, so why people continue to question the practice is beyond me

Comment by Lady Henrietta Muddling

December 1st 2008 03:28

Potter in a Harry

I'm not sure you should insult Norm like that.

Comment by Morgan Bell

December 1st 2008 04:31

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Henry Blake? haha

dont you mean Maxwell Klinger?

"Oh some guys like the army, I think that it's a mess! If it's so damn terrific, how come I wear a dress?"

Comment by Norm

December 2nd 2008 02:16

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I'm more a Radar O'Reilly, myself.
Ah, Bach.
I also prefer the gods to be Shakespeare, Dante and Goethe than those other three poetasters. Call me crazy.
It's true there are better ways to insult me.
Try giving me a compliment.

Comment by Chris Champion

December 2nd 2008 02:23

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Well said Norm. Jolly well said. Wise words indeed.

Comment by Norm

December 2nd 2008 02:32

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I'd say there's more than a bit of the real Colonel Henry Blake in you, Chris.
That makes you my superior.
Officially.

Comment by Chris Champion

December 2nd 2008 02:38

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I shall try not to abuse my authority. Go fetch Hot Lips for me will you please.

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