0
Guest Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

Re: Not to do sth OR to not do sth

the answer is (c)

Emotion: smile
  

Top answer

The Oxford Dictionary seems to compile words and their usage that are/were used in literature, whatever pedagogic grammarians say about them. " It says; "occasionally an adverb or adverbial phrase is inserted between to and the infinitive, forming the construction now usually but loosely called 'split infinitive' . " (R.

— Paco2004

  • The Oxford Dictionary seems to compile words and their usage that are/were used in literature, whatever pedagogic grammarians say about them.
  • " It says; "occasionally an adverb or adverbial phrase is inserted between to and the infinitive, forming the construction now usually but loosely called 'split infinitive' .
  • " (R.
  • Gentilis; Consideration , 1650).
  • If you want to speak a peculiar English, you can use ' to not do ' constructions.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

7 Answers
0
The Oxford Dictionary seems to compile words and their usage that are/were used in literature, whatever pedagogic grammarians say about them. My Oxford Dictionary (OED CD version 2.0, 2000) classes "to not do" as "peculiar constructions." It says; "occasionally an adverb or adverbial phrase is inserted between to and the infinitive, forming the construction now usually but loosely called 's
0
0
Hello Guest

Oddly, 'to' before 'not' in the negative infinitive is very rarely heard. It's almost always:

'I told you not [to do something].'
'He asked me not [to do something].'
'She ordered me not [to do something].'

Similarly in instructions:

'You are not [to answer back].'
'You are not [to buy that dress].'
'You are not [to split tha
0
0
Whatever Oxford says, the structure "to not do ..." is wrong, wrong, wrong! It should be a crime to use it. It's immoral! It subverts family values! It is a perversion!

I would rather die than to not follow this rule!!! Argggghhhh!

0
0
I suspect that the 'to not do' gene was long ago selected against 'with extreme prejudice' by irate grammarians.

If people still say it, it is at secret locations at the dead of night.
0
0
But what is the opposite of a TO DO list? So what is a list called of thing you should not do?

I think it is "TO NOT DO". This emphases the NOT.
Or is it NOT TO DO, or TO DO NOT?
0
0
Anonymous But what is the opposite of a TO DO list? So what is a list called of thing you should not do?
I think it's a "NOT TO DO" list, in general, but in a "TO NOT DO" list the emphasis seems more to me.
As for "To not or not to not, that is the question", I think there's a case where you need to split the infinitive because there are some differences in
0
0
Anonymous But what is the opposite of a TO DO list? So what is a list called of thing you should not do?
I don't think there's any such thing as the opposite of a to-do list. Why would you list for yourself a series of tasks that you are not going to do? For comic effect, you could call it a to-don't list, perhaps?
0

Related Questions