Best Infinitive Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings

“It is indeed acceptable practice to sometimes split an infinitive. If infinitive-splitting makes available just the shade of meaning you desire or if avoiding the separation creates a confusing ambiguity or patent artificiality, you are entitled to happily go ahead and split!”

Ifs Writing Sometimes Desire Practice Available Separation Shade Acceptable Splits Entitled Avoiding Confusing Ambiguity Patents Splitting Artificiality Infinitive

Book:Lederer on Language: A Celebration of English, Good Grammar, and Wordplay

Source: Lederer on Language: A Celebration of English, Good Grammar, and Wordplay

“Spirituality is indeed the master-key of the Indian mind; the sense of the infinitive is native to it.”

Mind Spiritual Spirituality Masters Keys Indian Native Sri Lanka Spiritual Indian Infinitive

Author:Sri Aurobindo

“There is nothing finer in the world than the telling of tales. Split atoms if you wish, but splitting an infinitive-and getting away with it-is far nobler. Lance boils if you wish, but pricking pretensions is often cleaner and always more fun.”

Ifs World Fun Wish Tales Get Away Atoms Splits Cleaners Pretension Splitting Infinitive

Book:Sleepside: The Collected Fantasies

Source: Sleepside: The Collected Fantasies

“Each time I see a split infinitive, an inconsistent tense structure or the unnecessary use of the passive voice, I blister.”

Use Voice Structure Splits Passive Unnecessary Tense Inconsistent Blisters Infinitive Passive Voice

Author:Sonia Sotomayor

“Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Proofread carefully to see if you words out. And don't start a sentence with a conjugation.”

Ifs Should Remember Form Used Voice Negative Sentences Statements Splits Passive Infinitive Passive Voice

Author:William Safire

“And all dared to brave unknown terrors, to do mighty deeds, to boldly split infinitives that no man had split before--and thus was the Empire forged.”

Men Brave Terror Deeds Empires Splits Space Travel Forged Grammar Humor Infinitive

Book:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Trilogy of Five

Source: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Trilogy of Five

“This was not the old Chichikov. This was some wreckage of the old Chichikov. The inner state of his soul might be compared to a demolished building, which has been demolished so that from it a new one could be built; but the new one has not been started yet, because the infinitive plan has not yet come from the architect and the workers are left in perplexity.”

Has Beens Soul States Might Left Plans Building Built Workers Architect Perplexity Wreckage Infinitive

Book:Dead Souls: A Novel

Source: Dead Souls: A Novel

“I am the androgyne, I am the living mind you fail to describe in your dead language the lost noun, the verb surviving only in the infinitive the letters of my name are written under the lids of the newborn child”

Mind Children Names Lost Language Failing Written Letters Surviving Verbs Newborn Nouns Newborn Child Infinitive

Book:Diving into the Wreck: Poems 1971-1972

Source: Diving into the Wreck: Poems 1971-1972

“To boldly split infinitives that no man had split before.”

Men Splits Grammar Humor Infinitive

Book:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Source: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

“English grammar is so complex and confusing for the one very simple reason that its rules and terminology are based on Latin - a language with which it has precious little in common. In Latin, to take one example, it is not possible to split an infinitive. So in English, the early authorities decided, it should not be possible to split an infinitive either. But there is no reason why we shouldn't, any more than we should forsake instant coffee and air travel because they weren't available to the Romans.”

“Would you convey my compliments to the purist who reads your proofs and tell him or her that I write in a sort of broken-down patois which is something like the way a Swiss waiter talks, and that when I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will stay split, and when I interrupt the velvety smoothness of my more or less literate syntax with a few sudden words of bar-room vernacular, that is done with the eyes wide open and the mind relaxed but attentive.”

Way Writing Mind Done God Eye Rooms Broken Wide Proof Bars Damn Editors Compliment Splits Editing Relaxed Waiter Swiss Broken Down Syntax Vernacular Eyes Wide Open Infinitive

Author:Raymond Chandler

“When I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it stays split.”

Damn Splits Grammar Infinitive

Author:Raymond Chandler

“English grammar is so complex and confusing for the one very simple reason that its rules and terminology are based on Latin, a language with which it has precious little in common.”

Littles Reason Language Simple Common Complexes Latin Confusing Grammar English Language Terminology English Grammar Infinitive

Author:Bill Bryson

“Making English grammar conform to Latin rules is like asking people to play baseball using the rules of football.”

People Play Language Football Baseball Asking Latin Conform Grammar English Language English Grammar Infinitive

Author:Bill Bryson

“Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much sense as forcing modern residents of England to wear laurels and togas.”

Writing Done Modern England Latin Speakers Splits Editing Residents Laurels Togas Infinitive

Book:The Language Instinct

Source: The Language Instinct

“There is no reason why we shouldn't be able to split an infinitive, any more than we should forsake instant coffee and air travel because they weren't available to the Romans.”

Should Reason Able Air Available Coffee Reason Why Instant No Reason Splits Forsake Air Travel Instant Coffee Infinitive

Author:Bill Bryson

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