An infinitive is an unconjugated verb preceded by the word "to". For example:
"I decided to go to the party."
"I was forced to eat the vegetables."
A split infinitive occurs when "to" and the verb are separated. For example:
"I decided to not go to the party."
"I was forced to unfortunately eat the vegetables."
These sentences can easily be "fixed" by rearranging the words (eg. "not to go", "unfortunately to eat"). It is somewhat controversial whether or not split infinitives are considered to be proper grammar. They are fairly common in speech and can sometimes help to reduce ambiguity in a sentence, but some strict grammarians still consider them to be grammatically incorrect.
"I decided to go to the party."
"I was forced to eat the vegetables."
A split infinitive occurs when "to" and the verb are separated. For example:
"I decided to not go to the party."
"I was forced to unfortunately eat the vegetables."
These sentences can easily be "fixed" by rearranging the words (eg. "not to go", "unfortunately to eat"). It is somewhat controversial whether or not split infinitives are considered to be proper grammar. They are fairly common in speech and can sometimes help to reduce ambiguity in a sentence, but some strict grammarians still consider them to be grammatically incorrect.
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