To Boldly Split Infinitives

A basic rule of grammar often quoted is: "Do not use split infinitives".

But what is a split infinitive? A split infinitive is an adverb used before its verb when the verb is used in the infinitive form. That is when the sentence uses to before the verb. For example: The boy decided to quickly run and kiss the girl.

We are often told to never use split infinitives, but are there cases where it is a justified? In my opinion there are. For example, in the famous line from the first Star Trek series: "To boldly go where no Man has been before". I think this sentence has considerable strength and the obvious alternative: "To go boldly where no Man has been before." is not as strong.

Anotner example of a split infinitive I noticed which sounded right was: "Use Auto-Post to quickly distribute your content to your other favorite sites.

I am writing a novel and in going through it checking I realised that I have split several infinitives. When I have noticed one I have to carefully consider it. In many cases I have left it in. It expresses what I wanted to express. Note that in my sentence: 'to carefully consider' is a split infinitive. I will leave it in because I want to emphasise the 'carefully'. The writers of the first Star Trek series probably wanted to emphasise the 'boldly'.

As a side issue, the word 'man' in that sentence could be objected to, and in Star Trek the next Generation it was changed to: "To boldly go where no one has been before." This avoids the problem of identifying the gender and species of whoever is going.

The meanings of the word "man" are explored more fully in my article "Man".