Split infinitives worksheet pdf

In this exercise you will be given some sentences containing split infinitives. When you are done, click on the get feedback button to see our revisions of these sentences. In the english language, a split infinitive or cleft infinitive is a grammatical construction in which a word or phrase comes between the to and the bare infinitive of the to form of the infinitive verb. Split infinitives, to split or not to split infinitives. A split infinitive occurs when an adverb is improperly placed between to and a verb.

An infinitive, or bare infinitive is a simple form of a verb. For example, to really try, to secretly admire, to actually love. Tips and tricks split infinitives split infinitives have been and undoubtedly will continue to be a hot topic for discussion among language professionals. How to avoid split infinitives grammar lessons youtube. Hearing split infinitives is like listening to mozart when the pianist keeps hitting all the wrong notes. A split infinitive is a grammatical construction in which a word or phrase comes between the to and the verb. Worksheets are ze and split work, split placement work to estimate support, subtraction, life events divorce work, infinitives, shared split or mixed custody work, marital asset and debt division work, 2 digit addition split. Gerund and infinitive worksheets are in pdf format and consist of a worksheet and answer sheet to check your results. Infinitives become split infinitives when another word is. In latin, the infinitive is a single word to be esse. If you trust your ear, youll probably split more than not, and thats fine. The construction is particularly notable because of some controversy as to whether it is grammatically correct. Split infinitives when a word or phrase appears between to and the verb in an infinitive, it is called a split infinitive.

The rule against splitting infinitives isnt followed as strictly today as it used to be. Exercise a underline each pronoun in the following sentences. Star treks to boldly go where no one has gone before. This quiz and worksheet include questions on examples and functions of split infinitives.

From this shaky start, alfords opinion about split infinitives somehow made its way into the general consciousness and english school books, and it was taught as a rule to generations of childrenand journalists, according the fowler brothers, authors of the popular and enduring 1907 style guide the kings english. To form to ea t into a split infinitive, you can add an adverb, for example, barely, so that you will have, to barely eat. Even though there are many other opportunities for me, i want to attend tiger college. The difference between a gerund and an infinitive is the word structure and how the word is used. Infinitives grammar exercises with answers infinitives. An infinitive is the uninflected form of a verb along with tofor example, to walk, to inflect, to split a split infinitive is created by placing an adverb or adverbial phrase between the to and the verbfor example, to boldly go, to casually walk, to gently push. It had been routinely violated by the great writers in english. Have the students work with a partner to match the meanings to the sentences in worksheet 74a.

In the example above, the participle is to and the bare infinitive is understand. Then write noun, adjective, or adverb to identify its function in the sentence. When you split an infinitive, you put something usually an adverb between the two parts. It was a difficult business for me to start the car with such a weak battery 5. Usually, an adverb or an adverbial phrase comes between them. In this exercise, rewrite each sentence to remove the split infinitive.

Ever since i was a small child, my father has expected me to. This is a 2page worksheet for revising the differences between to infinitive and infinitive without to. An infinitive will almost always begin with to followed by the simple form of the verb, like this. If the infinitive is used, the word structure generally includes the word to in front of the verb. Others see nothing wrong and even prefer splitting infinitives. An infinitive is said to be split when a word often an adverb or phrase comes between the to of the infinitive and the root of the verb. So, you can see in this case, to boldly go creates a split infinitive.

The word that splits the infinitive is nearly always an adverb ending ly. Infinitive used as an adjective the book to read for information is at the library. Critical thinking apply relevant concepts to examine information about split infinitives in a. The prejudice against split infinitives in native english is a bookish restriction that serves no real function. In pairs or small groups, students talk about the questions in the boxes, paying special attention to the verb pattern normally infiniti. To split or not to split infinitives the argument against split infinitives is that the infinitive is a single unit and, therefore, should not be divided. If you get stuck, click on hint to find out the next correct part. We can use the infinitive to explain why we do things. They would rewrite these sentences as she used secretly to admire him. Esl worksheets esl powerpoints video lessons upload.

Split infinitives have been and undoubtedly will continue to be a hot topic for discussion among language professionals. In fact, an unsplit infinitive may be less clear than a split one, as in he decided to go boldly to confront his tormentor, where it is unclear whether boldly is attached to go or confront or perhaps both. You will need to copy and paste them into the answer box and then change them so that the infinitive is no longer split. So, a split infinitive happens when we have the infinitive form of the verb, like to go broken up by an adverb like boldly. After all, theres no rule against splitting an infinitive. You should do your work he can win this match you must abide by law you ought to respect your elders rule 2. Simply stated, this is the infinitive form of a verb plus any complements and modifiers. The answer given may be slightly different from your own. Notice that there are not only differences in the recommended practices but also in the approaches and writing styles of the grammarians. Jul 19, 2016 infinitives become split infinitives when another word is inserted between the participle also called a marker and the bare infinitive. An infinitive is said to be split when a word or words appear between its two parts, as in to gladly serve. An infinitive is split when a word usually an adverb or phrase is inserted between the verb and the infinitive marker to. My friend connie is proud of her cocker spaniel, which she herself found at an animal.

Some people believe that split infinitives are grammatically incorrect and should be avoided at all costs. The idea that you shouldnt put an adverb in the middle of an infinitive was mentioned earlier but was most prominently introduced by henry alford, the dean of canterbury, in his 1864 book the queens english. As a result, its safest to avoid split infinitives in formal writing, unless the alternative wording seems very clumsy or would alter the meaning of your sentence. It is no fun for me to havehaving so many children to look after 6.

It is no use for us to try to convince him of this 3. Split infinitives have, traditionally, been regarded by some commentators as anathema, something to be avoided at all costs. An infinitive is the uninflected form of a verb along with tofor example, to walk, to inflect, to split a split infinitive is created by placing an adverb or adverbial phrase between the to and the verbfor example, to boldly go, to casually walk, to gently push although split infinitives have been widely condemned in gradeschool classrooms, theyre. Note that the black text turns gray for the examples. The infinitive without to is used after the verbs did, let, make, need, dare, see, hear, etc. Infinitives and infinitive phrases an infinitive is the presenttense form of a verb preceded by the word to. That is fine as long as the infinitive in your answer is no longer split. Split infinitives through time read and compare the following rules about split infinitives from different time periods. Split infinitive definition of split infinitive by merriam.

There are numerous breeds of dogs, and the american kennel club lists manyof them. Aug 08, 2014 split infinitives are accepted by grammarians but irritate many readers. Infinitive, definition, examples, uses, rules, exercise or. Well, do not be disheartened whenever you commit errors as they are truly inevitable. This is a 2page worksheet for revising the differences between toinfinitive and infinitive without to. Worksheet 12 infinitive of purpose watch take send meet listen learn find page 1 of 2 3 write sentences using the prompts. Before everything else, let us first know what infinitive phrases are. Split infinitives happen when you put an adverb between to and a verb, for example she used to secretly admire him you have to really watch him whats wrong with split infinitives. Apr 22, 2020 split infinitive definition is an infinitive with to having a modifier between the to and the verbal as in to really start. The teacher assigned several exercises to complete.

The infinitive an infinitive is a verb form that can be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. This mean that a tense is not applied and it isnt wound to any form of a subject. Aug 15, 2017 it was almost certainly based on the inability to split infinitives in latin and greek, since they consist of one word only. An infinitive usually refers to the word to that is followed immediately by a verb in the most primitive form. That is fine as long as the infinitive in your answer is no longer. Split infinitive definition is an infinitive with to having a modifier between the to and the verbal as in to really start.

This worksheet and quiz provide you with the chance to work on upgrading the following skills. The only rationale for condemning the construction is based on a false analogy with latin. The opening sequence of the star trek television series contains a wellknown example, where william shatner says to boldly go. This is a power point presentation explaining what are gerunds and infinitives and when they are used moreoves, you are shown verbs tha. Verbs can also serve as subjects when it comes to infinitives, something you never heard of. To form to eat into a split infinitive, you can add an adverb, for example, barely, so that you will have, to barely eat. Gerunds and infinitives part 3 put the verb into the gerund or the infinitive with to. The split infinitive construction, which denotes a particular type of syntactic pattern in which a word or phrase, especially an adverb, occurs between the infinitive marker to and the infinitive of the verb callemartin and mirandagarcia, 2009 1, 347, is one of the. To infinitive vs bare infinitive worksheet busy teacher. The claim that those who dislike split infinitives are applying rules of latin grammar to english is asserted in many references that accept the split infinitive. Listen to the bits of songs and fill in the gaps provided in the lyrics. But before getting deeper into what a split infinitive is, let us first study what infinitive means in the english language.

Splitting infinitives, ending with prepositions, and. Splitting infinitives, ending with prepositions, and beginning with but ll tackle three persistent writing myths that can get in the way of plain, clear, readable writing. The most famous split infinitive comes at the beginning of every episode of star trek, when the crews continuing mission is announced as. A split infinitive is a grammatical construction in the english language where a word or phrase, usually an adverb or adverbial phrase, occurs between the marker to and the bare infinitive uninflected form of the verb. English esl gerund worksheets most downloaded 286 results. They are considered by some grammarians to be improper and should be avoided in formal writing. An infinitive may be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Also called an infinitival phrase and a toinfinitive phrase, it is a construction made up of the particle to and the base form of a verb, with or without modifiers, complements. Infinitives exercises and answers, online test for infinitives definitions and examples of grammar in english english grammar for teachers general english question and answer english interview quiz general english for tnpsc exams.

This section is aimed at testing your competence in the use of infinitives and gerunds. On the line, label the function of the infinitive or infinitive phrase in the sentencesubject, direct object, adjective, adverb. Students complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs. You can use this short test to see how well you understand this linguistic.

Revise split infinitives whenever they make the sentence difficult to understand. Some are of the opinion that a split infinitive is and will always be grammatically incorrect. To sneeze, to smash, to cry, to shriek, to jump, to dunk, to read, to eat, to slurp all of these are infinitives. A split infinitive is a grammatical construction in english in which an adverb or adverbial phrase is inserted between the to and the basic verb form. The rule about not splitting infinitives grew out of a desire to make english more like latin, but english is more. The compilation of both the word to and the verb are in fact the infinitive.

Infinitives can be used as nouns, adjectives or adverbs. The infinitive without to is used after auxiliary verbs such as shall, will, can, may, should, must, etc. Infinitive phrase write the infinitive or infinitive phrase from each sentence. T he i nfi ni tive recognize an infinitive when you see one. One example is in the american heritage book of english usage. It wouldnt be much good for us to complain to the minister about it 4. Click on popout icon or print icon to worksheet to print or download. An infinitive consists of to and a verb or verb phrasefor example, to write, to swim well, to act quickly. When a graceful alternative exists, avoid the construction. Gerunds and infinitives some important rules the form of the verb that ends in ing is called a gerund when used as a noun. When you think your answer is correct, click on check to check your answer. Examples include write, go, talk, sit, and understand when a participle, such as to, appears before an infinitive, it is then referred to as a full infinitive.

Split infinitive definition of split infinitive by. Gi003 gerund or infinitive fill in the correct form intermediate. Examples include to write, to go, to talk, to sit, and to understand so, how do we get split infinitives. Ultimately, the split infinitive has become a matter of minor concern. Cambridge university press, 1997 the condemnation of the split infinitive seems so. Nevertheless, some people do object very strongly to them. There are 2 different activities in which students are asked to choose the correct option and rewrite the sentences beginning them as indicated and making the necessary transformations, using one of the forms. Critical thinking apply relevant concepts to examine information about split infinitives in a different light distinguishing differences compare and contrast topics from the lesson, such as. I do not dine with those who split infinitives, said samuel pickering, a university of connecticut english professor who is considered to be the inspiration for the lead role in the dead poets society. Infinitive used as a noun to win was the tennis players goal. Combining sentences using infinitives combine the sentences in each pair by forming an infinitive phrase. Because their function is that of a noun, gerunds may be used as the subject of a sentence. If you want to remember what a split infinitive is, just remember what might be the most famous example.