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Split infinitive

by confuse mind » Sat Jul 21, 2012 3:16 am
Does GMAT have a recommendation for/against split infinitives?

Which of the following is the correct/recommended way of writing on GMAT?

The instructor wants the students to quickly solve the puzzle.

The instructor wants the students to solve the puzzle quickly
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by kartikshah » Sat Jul 21, 2012 4:57 am
As a general rule, adverbs should be placed as near as possible to the words they modify.
'The instructor wants the students to quickly solve the puzzle.' is correct
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:13 am
confuse mind wrote:Does GMAT have a recommendation for/against split infinitives?

Which of the following is the correct/recommended way of writing on GMAT?

The instructor wants the students to quickly solve the puzzle.

The instructor wants the students to solve the puzzle quickly
Aside: An infinitive is essentially "to" + a verb. Examples: to run, to think, to ski, etc.

As a general rule, we shouldn't split infinitives.
"To go boldly" is preferable to "To boldly go"

I don't believe I've ever seen an official GMAT question that tests this distinction. However, I would be very surprised to see a split infinitive as the correct answer in a Sentence Correction question.

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by vk_vinayak » Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:25 am
kartikshah wrote:As a general rule, adverbs should be placed as near as possible to the words they modify.
'The instructor wants the students to quickly solve the puzzle.' is correct
NOPE.

"to solve" is an infinitive and nothing should come between "to" and "solve"

So, therefore The instructor wants the students to quickly solve the puzzle. is wrong.

And, The instructor wants the students to solve the puzzle quickly is correct.

If there is no 'to' then you can put adverb and verb closely.

Ex: I frequently walk to the store. >> Correct
He quickly ran towards the bus >> Correct
His friend asked him to quickly run towards the bus >> Incorrect.
- VK

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by kartikshah » Sat Jul 21, 2012 3:41 pm
@ VK_VINAYAK:
Not splitting infinitives is an old rule of grammar and sometimes it leads to awkward constructions. Moreover, most native speakers of English (American and British) would split infinitives in both - informal and formal - speech and writing, if required.

Consider this example:
"Email and ask him to provide a quote immediately."

By not splitting the infinitive here, we are creating miscues. Does the sentence want to say:

"Email immediately and ask him to provide a quote."

OR

"Email and ask him to immediately provide a quote." ?

By splitting the infinitive, it may become possible, at times, to clear this confusion.
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by vk_vinayak » Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:55 pm
kartikshah wrote:@ VK_VINAYAK:
Not splitting infinitives is an old rule of grammar and sometimes it leads to awkward constructions. Moreover, most native speakers of English (American and British) would split infinitives in both - informal and formal - speech and writing, if required.

Consider this example:
"Email and ask him to provide a quote immediately."

By not splitting the infinitive here, we are creating miscues. Does the sentence want to say:

"Email immediately and ask him to provide a quote."

OR

"Email and ask him to immediately provide a quote." ?

By splitting the infinitive, it may become possible, at times, to clear this confusion.
Most of the time people, even native, do not adhere to grammar while speaking. But, in GMAT, splitting the infinitive is wrong.
- VK

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