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Split infinitive

The structure in which an adverb comes between to and the infinitive verb form.

Consider the sentence She decided to never touch another cigarette.

Here the sequence to never touch is an example of what is called a split infinitive.

Another example is given below.

• I wish to really understand his motive.

Some people think that it is wrong to split an infinitive like this. But this view is wrong: the infinitive is a single word; the particle to is not part of the infinitive or part of the verb at all.