Search from various Tiếng Anh teachers...
Ana
the negative infinitive
I always use the structure "not+to+infinitive". For example: I prefer not to eat; He told me not to go.
I was wondering if "to+not+infinitive" is also possible:
Try not to be late.
Try to not be late.
Are they both correct?
Thank you.
3 Thg 01 2020 16:11
Câu trả lời · 7
4
Both forms are correct. Split infinitives have been used since the 1300s.
More information here:
https://www.thoughtco.com/split-infinitive-1692127
[excerpt]
"The split-infinitive rule may represent mindless prescriptivism's greatest height. It was foreign. (It was almost certainly based on the inability to split infinitives in Latin and Greek, since they consist of one word only.) It had been routinely violated by the great writers in English; one 1931 study found split infinitives in English literature from every century, beginning with the fourteenth-century epic poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight . . .." (Robert Lane Greene, You Are What You Speak. Delacorte, 2011)
3 tháng 1 năm 2020
2
...
3 tháng 1 năm 2020
Thanks for your comments
3 tháng 1 năm 2020
Chris has given you the answer.
Traditionally ... not to eat is correct as "to eat" should not be split with other words.
to not eat, to boldly go, to <any adverb> verb ... are known as splitting the infinitive, by putting in between, another word or words. Common and frequently heard, yet, technically less desirable, at least for those who care about grammar.
3 tháng 1 năm 2020
I am not a native speaker, but upper C2 level. Number one is correct. Number two is not, it sounds very weird. if you use a prefix like "dis" or "un" you could use it. E.g.: "Try to disarm him".
3 tháng 1 năm 2020
Bạn vẫn không tìm thấy được các câu trả lời cho mình?
Hãy viết xuống các câu hỏi của bạn và để cho người bản xứ giúp bạn!
Ana
Kỹ năng ngôn ngữ
Tiếng Anh, Tiếng Tây Ban Nha
Ngôn ngữ đang học
Tiếng Anh
Bài viết Bạn Có lẽ Cũng Thích

How to Ask for a Raise or Promotion in English
9 lượt thích · 8 Bình luận

The Key to Learning a Language Faster
31 lượt thích · 8 Bình luận

Why "General English" is Failing Your Career (An Engineer’s Perspective)
30 lượt thích · 12 Bình luận
Thêm bài viết
