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主题： 分裂不定式之简史Split infinitive

一. 引子

1.定义

在to和动词原形之间插入另一个词，称为分裂不定式，通常插入的词可以是一个副词，或者副词性词组。

2.一个十分著名的例子：独词介入

经典科幻美剧Star Trek《星际迷航》的开篇引语（Kirk舰长的独白）：

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.

Its five-year mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and civilizations.

To boldly go where no man has gone before.

她将勇往直前去向未知之境。

3.多词介入的例子

The population is expected to more than double in the next ten years.

人口在未来十年后将会翻倍还不止。

二. 分裂不定式的坎坷之路

1.概述

19世纪：分裂不定式不正确、不属于规范使用

今天：老派的语法学家vs新派观点

1）大师笔下的分裂不定式：

英国作家丹尼尔笛福Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe《鲁滨逊漂流记》

英国诗人华兹华斯 William Wordsworth

乔治·艾略特George Eliot

美国总统亚伯拉罕·林肯 Abraham Lincoln

美国大文豪亨利·詹姆斯 Henry James

2）分裂不定式在民间：

当代英语口语语料库：

always、really、completely、entirely出现在的分裂不定式里的频率远远高于不分裂的不定式

It would take years to really master a language. 

It would take years  really to master a language.

I want the flowers to completely cover the wall.

I want the flowers cover the wall completely.

2.分裂不定式的语用目的何在？

1) I need you all to really pull your weight.

比较I need you all to pull your weight.

2) I’m gonna totally squash him when I see him. 等到见到他，我要痛扁他一顿。

gonna＝going to

I’m gonna totally squash him.＝I’m going to totally squash him.

3) We are determined to completely and utterly eradicate the disease.

我们下定决心要完全地、彻底地去除该疾病。

4) He is thought to almost never have made such a gesture before.

大家觉得他以前几乎从未有过这样的举措。

5) This is a great opportunity to once again communicate our basic message.

这是再次传达我们基本思想的大好机会。

3.历史上的反对声音

disagreeable affectation：

叫人讨厌的矫揉之作

a common fault：常见的语用错误

Henry Alford：Plea for the Queen's English（1864）《拯救规范英语》：

…He gives as an instance, "to scientifically illustrate". But surely this is a practice entirely unknown to English speakers and writers. It seems to me, that we ever regard the to of the infinitive as inseparable from its verb. And, when we have already a choice between two forms of expression, "scientifically to illustrate" and "to illustrate scientifically", there seems no good reason for flying in the face of common usage.

4.历史上的支持声音

萧伯纳George Bernard Shaw

雷蒙·钱德勒（Raymond Chandler）：

…when I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will remain split…this is done with the eyes wide open and the mind relaxed and attentive.

一位记者在评论BBC电视台的一档英语语言栏目时曾这么说：

One reason why the older generation feel so strongly about English grammar is that we were severely punished if we didn't obey the rules! One split infinitive, one whack; two split infinitives, two whacks; and so on. 

5.问题的源头何在？

1）Latin的强势与English的站队

2）拉丁文中的不定式VS英语中的不定式

三.  如今大家如何看待分裂不定式?

1.坚决支持派

2.谨慎派

牛津词典The Oxford Dictionary

四.案例分析

原句：She decided to gradually get rid of the teddy bears she had collected.

她决定慢慢断离舍那些她收集的泰迪熊玩具。

试把gradually这个副词在句中挪动位置：

1.She decided gradually to get rid of the teddy bears she had collected.

她的这个决定是慢慢做出的：This might imply that the decision was gradual.

2.She decided to get rid of the teddy bears she had collected gradually.

她决定要断离舍那些她慢慢收集起来的泰迪熊玩具：This implies that the collecting process was gradual.

3.She decided to get gradually rid of the teddy bears she had collected.

4.She decided to get rid gradually of the teddy bears she had collected.

分裂动词固定搭配

5.Gradually, she decided to get rid of the teddy bears she had collected.

1）这个决定她思考了好久才慢慢做出的

2）她将满满断离舍这些玩具。

模棱两可。

案例分析结论：

分裂位置是保持句子原意的唯一落脚点。

除非去掉不定式结构，彻底改变原句句式构成。2 种保持原句含义不变的改写方式：

1.She decided to get rid of her teddy bear collection gradually.

2.She decided she would gradually get rid of the teddy bears she had collected.

总结：

1.语言在借鉴与自新的斗争中不断成长

2.语言发展是持续的、动态的