By Susie Brown

I always thought that splitting an infinitive was a major no-no in English grammar, but it turns out that the split infinitive is not as problematic as I once thought.

Thankfully, the English language is versatile enough that it allows a writer to express themselves in a variety of ways.  But sometimes we all get to that point in writing that, although there may be a number of ways to say one thing, there is only one way to express an idea with just exactly the right words.

For example…

Often splitting an infinitive provides the perfect effect, so not having that option in a writer’s toolbox can be limiting.  For instance the phrase “to lovingly attend to his sick mother,” really makes the point that the attention is full of love.  If I were forced to avoid using the split infinitive, the alternatives would not be quite as effective.  Here are a few attempts to avoid the split infinitive in “to lovingly attend to his sick mother…”

• to attend to his sick mother lovingly
• to attend to his sick mother in a loving fashion
• he gave his sick mother attention and treated her lovingly

None of the alternatives emphasize quite how lovingly he attended to his sick mother.

I wanted to find out whether cutting split infinitives out from my writing diet is really necessary, so I did some research.

What is a split infinitive?

The simplest form of a verb is called an infinitive.  There are two types of infinitive, the bare infinitive and the full infinitive.  An example of a bare infinitive is the word “go,” which in its full form would be “to go.”   Likewise, the bare form of another word like “jump” would become “to jump” in the full form.

As you can see the full form of an infinitive adds the word “to” in front of the bare infinitive verb.  Being as the bare form of an infinitive, such as “go,” is only one word, there is no danger of it getting split apart.  Therefore, the danger of splitting an infinitive only matters with the full form of an infinitive, such as “to go.”  If I wanted to split the full infinitive “to go,” I could say, “to boldly go.”  Perhaps the most famous example of a split infinitive is Star Trek’s famous introductory line, “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”  The word “boldly” splits the infinitive verb “to go.”

What’s the Big Deal About Splitting an Infinitive?

In the English language, the full infinitive verb form always consists of two words.  Let’s look at a few other languages too.  Here are some examples of the full infinitive “to go” in some other languages…

• Latin- ire
• German- zu gehen
• Spanish- para ir
• French- aller
• Irish- chun dul

As you can see, it is not uncommon for the full infinitive to consist of two words.  In fact, that seems to be case in most “western” languages.

Latin- No Split Infinitives

I would like to call your attention to the fact that the full infinitive in Latin is always only one word, and as a result, it is impossible to split an infinitive in Latin.  Let me just reiterate that point, it’s not that there is any rule against splitting an infinitive in Latin, rather it is an impossibility.

Paying Homage to Latin

One of the historical building blocks of the English language was Latin, and therefore there were linguists who felt that it would be disrespectful to do things in English that you can’t do in Latin.  It is worth noting that there were always linguists that disagreed with this position.  Somehow, the opinion that splitting an infinitive is grammatically incorrect became the rule of choice.

What is your opinion about splitting infinitives, do you think that it’s okay to boldly split infinitives?

Susie Brown is a FastUpFront Blog contributor and business consultant. Fastupfront offers business loan alternatives for existing businesses in need of working capital.

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Writing on spec is not my favorite thing to do. But I’d be lying if I said I never did it. In fact, the first several articles I ever published were submitted on speculation (meaning without a contract or promise of publication), because I didn’t know any better. Then as I built up more clips and learned how to query editors, I focused more on assigned articles, because that’s how to build a steady income as a writer and protect yourself from getting screwed.

These days I only consider writing on spec under the following circumstances.

1. Personal essays. This is how most essay editors work and it’s one of the reasons I don’t write as many personal essays as I’d like. Still, there is a sense of personal satisfaction when I finish an essay I’m proud of and that almost makes up for the uncertainty of being able to sell it!
2. An editor expresses interest, and it’s a topic with resale potential. It’s one thing to send an editor an article out of the blue and another to have that editor express interest in a query and ask if you’ll write it on spec. I’m still a little dubious about editors who refuse to offer a contract (especially to writers with plenty of clips to their name), but someones it’s their policy that new-to-them writers work on spec the first time. I would only consider this if the article could work for another publication. If it’s highly specific for a niche audience, then it’s too much of a risk, in my opinion.
3. It’s a publication I’m dying to write for, and I’m willing to eat that time if I need to. This is similar to #2. You’re taking a calculated risk, and you have to be ready for it blow up in your face. But if it’s a dream publication, then it might be worth the risk for the possible pay-off.

Choosing to write on spec (or not) is a complex and personal decision. There are many more factors than the ones I’ve mentioned above. So, how do you know if you should write on spec? And if you’re experienced freelancer, when did you start saying no? I’d love to read your thoughts on the topic!

As I watched the 2006 remake of Charlotte’s Web earlier this week, it occurred to me that Charlotte is not only a spider but also a talented copywriter. I mean, her words saved Wilbur from the slaughterhouse! How’s that for impact? Here, some of Charlotte’s lessons for writers.

Pithiness has power. Phrases like “Terrific” and “Some Pig” created a stir, because they were short and upbeat (plus, they fit the allotted space). A carefully constructed fragment can be effective.

But it has to be true. The other animals try to pressure Charlotte into using empty superlatives, but she insists that whatever she writes in the web has be to true. And she’s right. Meaningless puffery doesn’t pay off in the end, so it’s best to make sure that your copy is grounded in reality.

Everyone’s contribution counts. Charlotte knows she needs help brainstorming, so she enlists the other barnyard animals. They even convince Templeton the Rat to bring back scraps of packaging for inspiration. Sometimes creativity comes from unexpected sources.

You’re only as good as your last project. Each time Charlotte completes a web, she has to worry about how to top it so that Wilbur won’t get sold for meat. Good copywriters know that excellence is an ongoing process, and for Charlotte and Wilbur the stakes are high.

Have you learned a writing lesson from an unlikely place? Can you think of other children’s books or movies that speak to this topic?

Flickr photo courtesy of missy & the universe