{"id":7038,"date":"2019-06-27T16:44:15","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T20:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/?p=7038"},"modified":"2019-08-27T10:33:26","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T14:33:26","slug":"star-trek-and-the-split-infinitive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/star-trek-and-the-split-infinitive\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Trek and the Split Infinitive"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image courtesy of Pixabay, CCO<\/p><\/div>\n

Space: The final frontier. <\/em><\/strong>These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. <\/em><\/strong>Its 5-year mission –\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>To explore strange new worlds. <\/em><\/strong>To seek out new life and new civilizations. <\/em><\/strong>To boldly go where no man has gone before!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

These are the very famous opening lines to the credit sequence for Star Trek<\/strong>. This speech, dating back to September of 1966, remains one of the most enduring and iconic in the history of popular culture. You probably know someone who can quote it by heart. It also managed to change the English language forever.<\/p>\n

Seriously, I\u2019m not kidding. Let me explain.<\/p>\n

In English, we have a grammatical construction called a split infinitive<\/strong>, consisting of an infinitive with an adverb or other word inserted between to and its corresponding verb. To quietly sneak out, Abigail removed her shoes.<\/em> The infinitive in that sentence is to sneak<\/em>. The adverb quietly<\/em> splits the infinitive.<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s wrong with that? Well, there are some major objections to using split infinitives.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. They are unnecessary.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Writers need to be clear, and split infinitives often muddy the language. Greg continued to noisily snore<\/strong> in the corner of the room. <\/em>The phrasing is awkward. If you didn\u2019t split the infinitive, you would have Greg continued to snore noisily<\/strong> in the corner of the room.<\/em> It\u2019s a simple change, but the sentence reads better. In fact, in most cases, putting the adverb after the infinitive is just more elegant.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. They are easily overused.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Once writers get in the habit of using split infinitives, they seem to think that every instance calls for it. This is also sloppy writing. In order to clearly establish<\/strong> his superior strength, Jamal continued to aggressively pound<\/strong> the punching bag. <\/em>One adverb in that sentence is quite sufficient. Or, if you want to completely befuddle your reader, by all means, continue to unnecessarily use modifiers.<\/p>\n

      Unfortunately, because of Henry Alford<\/strong>, an English grammarian in 1864, many English scholars believed that split infinitives should never be used. In his book, The Queen\u2019s English<\/u>, Alford stated that \u201c\u2026there is no good reason to split the infinitive.\u201d This is clearly an opinion, not a grammar rule. Nevertheless, English teachers have been repeating this opinion as fact for generations. Or, rather, until just before The Next Generation.<\/p>\n

      When Gene Roddenberry<\/strong>, Star Trek<\/em>\u2019s creator, wrote the words which would introduce his series, he knew perfectly well that the construct \u2026To boldly go\u2026was a split infinitive. It didn\u2019t matter. To go boldly where no man has gone before was awkward phrasing. It was also less forceful. Roddenberry was a gifted writer who knew when to bend the rules.<\/p>\n

      I should point out that Roddenberry was hardly the first to use split infinitives to great effect. Lord Byron, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Ernest Hemingway were all excellent masters of the written word and you can find many brilliant examples of split infinitives in their work. But it was Roddenberry who gave us one which would be quoted so commonly as to be part of our culture. Since Star Trek<\/em>, split infinitives have become accepted by all major experts on English grammar.<\/p>\n

      Moreover, as a response to the change in society\u2019s acceptance of sexual equality, Roddenberry later rewrote his famous speech. When Star Trek: The Next Generation<\/em> premiered 21 years after the original series, the phrase was changed to \u201cTo boldly go where no one has gone before.\u201d The difference was noted, but the public accepted it. And, by then, nobody cared about the split infinitive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

      Space: The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its 5-year mission –\u00a0To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before! These are the very famous opening lines to the credit sequence for Star Trek. This speech, dating back…<\/p>\n

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