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Mr. Tom Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

So the only advice I have is to not give up.

Hi

Are both of these OK?

So the only advice I have for you is to not give up.
So the only advice I have for you is not to give up.

Thanks,

Tom
  

Top answer

Mr. Tom So the only advice I have for you is not to give up. Use this one.

— CalifJim

  • Mr.
  • Tom So the only advice I have for you is not to give up.
  • Use this one.
  • The negation of an infinitive starts with "not to"; however, there are some people who don't object to the word order "to not".
  • CJ
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4 Answers
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Mr. TomSo the only advice I have for you is not to give up.
Use this one. The negation of an infinitive starts with "not to"; however, there are some people who don't object to the word order "to not".

CJ
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Thanks, CJ!

What about this one? Is it also natural?

The only advice I have for you is don't give up.

or

The only advice I have for you is "don't give up."

Tom
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Mr. TomThe only advice I have for you is "Don't give up."
I would use this one with the capitalization as shown.

CJ
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Mr. TomAre both of these OK?
So the only advice I have for you is to not give up.
So the only advice I have for you is not to give up.
Yes, both are OK, and they are equally natural to my ear.

Some insist that the first ordering is an error called the ‘split infinitive’, but in reality English doesn’t have an infinitive to split.
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