I had discussed split infinitives in my columns on many occasions before, but not when to use or drop the “to” that precedes the verb in the infinitive. A reader of my
Manila Times column, Douglas Maliszewski in New Jersey, U.S.A., raised the question in an e-mail many years ago and I think our discussion on the subject remains as relevant and as useful to English learners today.
Here’s his letter: Dear Jose:
As a wordsmith junior class, I would rarely question you. However, in your column “The purposive ways of viewing the future – III,” I wonder if the following sentence, “What everyone will be doing in the next five months
is size up the candidates,” will be better said using the to-infinitive: “What everyone will be doing in the next five months
is to size up the candidates.” It feels more natural, sounds more correct to my ear.
My reply:Dear Douglas:
The grammar jury is probably still out on that one. The infinitive may be preceded by “to” (the
to-infinitive) or can stand alone (the
zero or base infinitive) depending on usage. Your use of the to-infinitive in the phrase “to size up the candidates” is the scrupulously formal usage; my use of the zero infinitive where I drop the “to” is the informal one, in keeping with the tone of my columns. I would think the choice is simply a matter of style.
This is not to say, of course, that there aren’t some hard-and-fast rules on the use of the two forms. Here they are:
Use the to-infinitive: (1) After such verbs as “agree,” “decide,” “fail,” “learn,” “mean,” “want,” “want,” and “wish”: “We
agreed to look deeply into the matter.”
(2) After the auxiliary verb forms “to be to,” “to have to,” and “ought to”: “We rushed our pleadings knowing that the judge
was to decide on the case soonest.” “She hated the idea of
having to fly at such an early hour.”
(3) When used in the sentence pattern “it is + adjective + to-infinitive”: “
It is futile to pursue this line of action.”
Use the zero or base infinitive: IMAGE CREDIT: 7ESL.COM/THE-ZERO-INFINITIVE(1) After the auxiliaries “must,” “might,” “may,” “can,” and “should”: “We
must [to] find a better solution.” “They
should [to] get expert opinion.”
(2) After such verbs of perception as ““feel,” “see,” and “hear” in the sentence pattern “verb + object + zero infinitive”: “I
felt the numbness [to] grow on my leg.” “She
saw them [to] kiss beneath the tree.”
(3) After the verbs “make” and “let” in the sentence pattern “make/let + object + zero infinitive”: “She
made me [to] pay for the lost cell phone.”
(4) After the expression “had better”: “You
had better [to] leave now or else…”
(5) After the expression “would rather” when it refers to the speaker’s own actions: “I
would rather [to] lose by default than fight him again.”
This article appeared in the column “Silent Fire” by Jose A. Carillo in the January 21, 2004 issue of The Manila Times
, © 2004 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. “Silent Fire” used to be my weekend reader-feedback column when “English Plain and Simple” ran five days weekly during its first two years.
