Should I "boldly go" or "go boldly"?
By
Tim North
info@betterwritingskills.com
http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com
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Space,
the final frontier.
These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.
It's 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!
Thus starts the famous voice-over to Star Trek. Quite
apart from the 1960s sexism, it raises the burning
question that has probably long been gnawing at you:
should Captain Kirk have said "to boldly go"
or "to go boldly"?
To
put it in linguistic geek speak: "Are split
infinitives really a tool of the devil?" :-)
Just
in case the issue hasn't been gnawing at you, let's
start with a quick review: what is a split infinitive?
Well it's quite simple. An infinitive is a form
of a verb (a doing word) that (usually) starts with
the word "to". For example, "to run",
"to go" and "to laugh" are all
infinitives.
When
we put a another word between "to" and
the verb, we're said to have "split" the
infinitive. For example: "to unsteadily run",
"to boldly go" or "to quietly laugh".
Are
these grammatically naughty or not?
Short
answer: no.
The
traditional "rule" that one should not
split infinitives stems from the fact that it is
not done in Latin. Purists argue (incorrectly in
my opinion) that because Latin doesn't do it, English
shouldn't.
In
his wonderful book "The Mother Tongue",
prolific author Bill Bryson provides the following
simple rebuttal:
I can think of two very good reasons for not splitting
an infinitive.
1.
Because you feel that the rules of English ought
to conform to the grammatical precepts of a language
that died a thousand years ago.
2. Because you wish to cling to a pointless affectation
of usage that is without the support of any recognized
authority of the last 200 years, even at the cost
of composing sentences that are ambiguous, inelegant,
and patently contorted.
You'll
find many more helpful tips like these in Tim North's
much applauded range of e-books. More information
is available on his web site, and all books come with
a money-back guarantee. http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com
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