not to or to not

Status
Not open for further replies.

Over the top

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Arabic
Home Country
Saudi Arabia
Current Location
Saudi Arabia
Which one is correct?

How not to be ... (adjective)
How to not be ... (adjective)

How not to ....( verb)
How to not ....(verb)

Thank you :-D
 

abaka

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
Not to, always. Remember:

To be or not to be, that is the question. -- Shakespeare.
 

birdeen's call

VIP Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
Over the top, try searching for "split infinitive".
 

abaka

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
I'm not entirely against split infinitives. The question, however, is not about them in general, but about the word "not" with an infinitive. I don't think "to not" is at all necessary. Not to be, not "to not be". How not to, not "how to not".
 

birdeen's call

VIP Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
I'm not entirely against split infinitives. The question, however, is not about them in general, but about the word "not" with an infinitive. I don't think "to not" is at all necessary. Not to be, not "to not be". How not to, not "how to not".

As far as I know, split infinitives with "not" are less common than other kinds and many more people object to them, but some use them. (I don't.) I just wanted to give Over the top more search options.
 

Over the top

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Arabic
Home Country
Saudi Arabia
Current Location
Saudi Arabia
My friend, who is native English speaker from London, always use 'to not'. What does this mean? Is he wrong?
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
My friend, who is a native English speaker from London, always uses 'to not'. What does this mean? Is he wrong?
I would not say it's wrong, but it's not common. COCA has over 36,000 citations for 'not to verb' and only 24 for 'to not verb'.
 

Mohammadhelmi

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Arabic
Home Country
Israel
Current Location
Israel
always not to + infinitive
It is unacceptable to say to not + infinitive, but instead, you should say not to + infinitive
:)
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
It is not unacceptable, merely uncommon.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top