Consider the classic mission statement from Star Trek‘s USS Enterprise: “To boldly go where no man has gone before.” Captain Kirk’s split infinitive — placing the adverb “boldly” between the parts of the infinitive “to” and “go” — gives the phrase a sense of urgency and drama that would be lost in an “unsplit” version: “To go boldly where no man has gone before.” This often-quoted example shows that split infinitives have a purpose, even when traditional grammar purists may argue against them.
An infinitive is the form of a verb created by adding “to” to the base form of a verb, such as “to go” or “to speak.” A split infinitive is created when an adverb is inserted between “to” and the principal verb, as in “to secretly admire” or “to carefully examine.” Splitting an infinitive can indeed cause ambiguity or confusion in a sentence, but it is not inherently incorrect and, in fact, can sometimes improve the sentence’s tone or meaning.
In some cases, for example, splitting the infinitive can highlight a specific action. Consider: “My manager has to regularly analyze updated prices.” Here, the manager’s action of analyzing prices on a regular cadence is the focus. However, “unsplitting” the infinitive changes the meaning: “My manager has to analyze regularly updated prices.” Now, it’s unclear if the manager is analyzing on a regular schedule or if the prices are updated regularly. Split infinitives can reduce ambiguity. It’s worth noting that you can “unsplit” the same sentence as “My manager regularly has to analyze updated prices,” and the meaning is clear. It really comes down to the flow of the sentence and where you want the emphasis to land.
There are, however, occasions when splitting should be avoided, particularly in formal or academic writing where some style guides discourage it. It’s also best to forgo split infinitives if a sentence contains multiple adverbs: “Be sure to speak slowly, confidently, and clearly” is more explicit than “Be sure to slowly, confidently, and clearly speak.”
Ultimately, the rule against split infinitives is outdated, and there’s no rigid grammar law against it. May this empower you to boldly go where no writer has gone before and split your infinitives when necessary.
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