Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 111, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 May 1918 — Split Infinitive. [ARTICLE]

Split Infinitive.

The “split infinitive” is a term used by critical grammarians to designate the placing of an adverb or a phrase between an infinitive and its- sign to, thus separating or disconnecting the infinitive from a word that properly belongs to it. Following are examples: “I went there in order to personally inspect it,” instead of “I went there in order to inspect it personally” os- “in order personally to inspect it;” “ the acld is allowed t 0 slowly percolate”; “the glare of the fire seemed to completely light the city.” Each of these sentences splits the infinitive by placing words oetw’een the infinitive and the “to” that belongs to it.