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Opted Usage

by me.prasanna » Mon May 11, 2009 10:57 am
Sentence:

Suffering from his injuries, John opted not to run in the race

A.) opted not to run in the race

B.) opted to not run in the race

Which one is correct A or B
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by abhinav85 » Mon May 11, 2009 11:43 am
A is right
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by asdf29 » Tue May 12, 2009 12:13 pm
I think they are both correct but have different meanings. Does anyone have any explanations?
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by Jose Ferreira » Tue May 12, 2009 2:49 pm
Answer A is correct, because B has a "split infinitive."

Any time you put the word "to" next to a verb stem, you have an infinitive:
to jump
to run
to be
to read

One of the more arbitrary rules in English grammar states that we are not allowed to separate the "to" from the verb.

This principle can lead to some conversationally awkward, yet grammatically correct, sentences:
"I promise never to watch that movie again."
Jose Ferreira
Founder and CEO, Knewton, Inc.
https://www.knewton.com/gmat
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