TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: [Fwd: Split Infinitive Now Respectable] From:Keith Wolfe <keith -at- MERGE -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 27 Oct 1998 14:20:49 -0600
The way I remember it...
An infinitive is not a verb. An infinitive is a verbal (a form derived from a verb).
Verbals are not used as verbs, but as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.
The three types of verbals are, if I remember correctly:
* Infinitive
* Participle
* Gerund
Infinitive (to + verb) [noun, adj, or adverb]
The man wants to sleep. ("to sleep" is the infinitive (D.O.)... "wants" is the verb).
Participle (past, present, etc.) [used as an adjective]
Confused users read manuals.
Gerund (verb + ing) [always a noun]
Opening a file is easy.
Verbals are not verbs, they are verbs used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
To is a preposition, yes. As in:
"He gave the ring to his wife."
Prepositions show how nouns relate to the rest of the sentence.
My point:
To say (hey... there's an infinitive!) that infinitives do not use the word
"to" is incorrect, because ALL infinitives use the word "to" (to + verb). The
words belong together.
A split infinitive is when you separate the two. Like so:
"To properly operate the software" is a split infinitive.
"To operate the software properly" is correct.
Whether you split them or not is up to you and your writing style. I try to
avoid them, because that is my preference.
Keith Wolfe
Chuck Martin wrote:
>
> Considering that there's no such thing as a "split infinitive," I say
> only that it's about time.
>
> I forget whether it saw my Style in Technical Communication class or my
> Technical Editing class that taught me that the preposition "to" is not,
> has not been, and never will be part of the infinitive, which is the
> single, simple verb.
>
> So, in fact, a "split" infinitive can't exist--at least, until someone
> figures out how to literally break the single word in two.
>
>
--
Keith Wolfe
keith -at- merge -dot- com
Direct Phone: (414) 475-2524
