英语语法：87 Split Infinitives

by Mignon Fogarty

Today, I'm gonna get crazy. I said that if people wrote reviews at iTunes, I would split infinitives², and you wrote a lot of reviews. So, to say thank you, I'm going to purposefully split as many infinitives as I can!
My secret, though, is that splitting infinitives actually isn't such a wild and woolly endeavor. I know it might come as a surprise, but Grammar Girl isn't actually that adventurous³. So although you've probably heard that it's bad to split infinities⁴, it just isn't true. You could even call it a grammar myth.
To understand, we first have to clearly define the word infinitive¹. Wikipedia defines infinitive as the unmarked form of a verb, but you really need examples to understand what that means. In English, there are two kinds of infinitives: full infinitives and bare infinitives. Bare infinitives are the kind of verbs you usually see in a dictionary, such as
go
make
run
define
split
On the other hand, full infinitives are made up of two words, usually putting the word to in front of the bare verb. For example:
to go
to make
to run
to define
to split
The logic⁵ behind the 19th-century rule about not splitting infinitives rests on comparing English to Latin, because in Latin there is no two-word form of the infinitive. They don't have to deal with full verbs versus⁶ bare verbs. Therefore, it's impossible to split infinitives in Latin. For some reason, many grammarians in the 19th century got the notion that because it is impossible to split infinitives in Latin, it shouldn't be done in English either.
But notions change over time, and today almost everyone agrees that it is OK to split infinitives, especially when you would have to change the meaning of the sentence or go through writing gymnastics to avoid the split. English isn't Latin after all.
So here's an example of a sentence with a split infinitive:
EXAMPLE: Steve decided⁷ to quickly remove Amy's cats.
In this case, the word quickly splits the infinitive to remove: to quickly remove.
If you try to just unsplit the verb, you actually change the meaning. For example,you might try to say:
EXAMPLE: Steve decided quickly to remove Amy's cats.
Now, instead of saying that Steve removed Amy's cats quickly (zip zip) while she stepped out for a minute, you're saying that he made the decision to remove the cats quickly.
You could rewrite the sentence without the split infinitive to make the same point. For example:
EXAMPLE: Steve decided to grab Amy's cats and set them free before she got back from the corner market.
But that isn't really necessary. The bottom line is that you can usually avoid splitting infinitives if you want to, but there's no reason to go out of your way to avoid it, and certainly don't let anyone tell you that it's forbidden.
And here's a bonus bit: If you want to remember what a split infinitive is, just remember what might be the most famous example: Star Trek's “to boldly go where no man has gone before.” To boldly go, is a split infinitive.
That's all. As always, this is Grammar Girl, striving to be your friendly guide in the writing world. You'll find a transcript⁸ of this podcast at。。。. In this transcript split infinitives are in italics. If you'd like to call in with a question or comment the number is 206-338-GIRL.

 

1 infinitive   

n.不定词；adj.不定词的

参考例句：

• The use of the split infinitive is now generally acceptable.分裂不定式的用法现在已被广泛接受。
• Modal verbs generally take the bare infinitive.情态动词通常用不带to的不定式。

2 infinitives   

n.（动词）不定式( infinitive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her litmus test for good breeding is whether you split infinitives. 她测试别人是否具有良好教养的标准是看对方是否在不定式的动词前加修饰副词。 来自互联网
• Nouns, adjectives and infinitives can be used as objective complements. 名词，形容词及不定式可用作补语。 来自互联网

3 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

4 infinities   

n.无穷大( infinity的名词复数 )；无限远的点；无法计算的量；无限大的量

参考例句：

5 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

6 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。