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Clee62 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

help not to starve or help to not starve

Hi,

I came across this sentence. And I forgot the rule for negating a sentence. Do we put the "not" in front of an infinitive verb? or it also okay to put after the infinitive?

thanks
  

Top answer

The traditional rule is that the two elements of a full infinite ( to starve ) should never be separated by a word or phrase, although there is usually nothing wrong with doing so. This is called a split infinitive .

— RandomGuy

  • The traditional rule is that the two elements of a full infinite ( to starve ) should never be separated by a word or phrase, although there is usually nothing wrong with doing so.
  • This is called a split infinitive .
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2 Answers
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The traditional rule is that the two elements of a full infinite (to starve) should never be separated by a word or phrase, although there is usually nothing wrong with doing so. This is called a split infinitive.
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clee62Do we put the "not" in front of an infinitive verb?
Yes. not to starve.

Remember the famous line from Shakespeare:

To be or not to be. That is the question.

CJ
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