Learn about split infinitives
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Kellie: To Boldly Look to the Future in Britain. In this final lesson of the series, you will learn about split infinitives. |
| John: The conversation is between Lucy and Jack. |
| Kellie: They are boyfriend and girlfriend, so they’ll be speaking informally. |
| John: Let’s listen to the conversation! |
| DIALOGUE |
| Lucy: Here’s to the future! You’re no longer an apprentice… |
| John: …and you will soon rule the world of international banking. |
| Lucy: (laughs) I’ll be happy just to pass the management scheme and get a permanent job afterwards. To rapidly start on the path to world domination isn’t a high priority! |
| John: So, are you able to take a plus one on all of theseforeign jollies that you’ll get to take on company expenses? |
| Lucy: I didn’t ask. It seemed a little rude for me to ask about benefits before the ink on the contract was dry. |
| John: I’m only kidding. As much as I would love to frequently fly off with you to exotic countries all of the time, I’m going to have my hands full with running my own garage. Am I crazy for buying a share in a garage when I’ve only just qualified? |
| Lucy: Probably. But crazy in a good way! You have ambition and that’s never anything to be ashamed of. |
| John: I might change my mind when I have no money and am living on baked beans again like an impoverished student. |
| Lucy: Well, if that ever happens I promise to take you to McDonalds occasionally, just to put some variety back into your diet. |
| John: Thanks. I’m sure that will do wonders for my health. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Kellie: Jack and Lucy don’t seem to have high opinions of students or high-powered business people! |
| John: Unfortunately the stereotypes of both classes of people are not very positive. |
| Kellie: No they aren’t! Let’s talk about that a little bit. |
| John: There is the stereotype that those at the top of companies get a lot of benefits. One of those is foreign business trips. They’re supposed to be work-related, but the general view is that they’re an excuse to travel abroad, see some sights and have fun at the expense of the company. |
| Kellie: Or the tax payer. |
| John: Yes, people are especially critical of public servants who get business trips, as the money comes from the public purse – people’s taxes. |
| Kellie: But it’s no easier for those out of work and studying. |
| John: No, the stereotype of students is that they’re lazy, they stay in bed all day, they miss lectures and live on cheap and unhealthy food. |
| Kellie: Like baked beans. |
| John: Yeah, they’re very cheap and easy to cook as you just heat them up. They’re seen as popular student food. |
| Kellie: Stereotypes exist everywhere in society, don’t they? |
| John: They do. It’s important to know what is a stereotype and what is an actual truth, I think. Although I’m sure some students do spend all day in bed, I’m equally sure that most work hard. |
| Kellie: I’m sure they do too. Let’s move onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is: |
| Kellie: to rule the world [natural native speed] |
| John: to be in charge of, to be the leader of something |
| Kellie: to rule the world [slowly - broken down by syllable] to rule the world [natural native speed] |
| John: Next |
| Kellie: to take a plus one [natural native speed] |
| John: to be accompanied by someone, usually a friend or partner |
| Kellie: to take a plus one [slowly - broken down by syllable] to take a plus one [natural native speed] |
| John: Next |
| Kellie: world domination [natural native speed] |
| John: the state of controlling everything on the planet |
| Kellie: world domination [slowly - broken down by syllable] world domination [natural native speed] |
| John: Next |
| Kellie: jolly [natural native speed] |
| John: a holiday from work that is supposed to be work related, but is in reality more recreational |
| Kellie: jolly [slowly - broken down by syllable] jolly [natural native speed] |
| John: Next |
| Kellie: expenses [natural native speed] |
| John: money repaid by the company to cover work related costs of employees |
| Kellie: expenses [slowly - broken down by syllable] expenses [natural native speed] |
| John: Next |
| Kellie: before the ink was dry [natural native speed] |
| John: happens too quickly, right away |
| Kellie: before the ink was dry [slowly - broken down by syllable] before the ink was dry [natural native speed] |
| John: Next |
| Kellie: to qualify [natural native speed] |
| John: to have fulfilled a necessary condition or test |
| Kellie: to qualify [slowly - broken down by syllable] to qualify [natural native speed] |
| John: Next |
| Kellie: impoverished [natural native speed] |
| John: to be reduced to poverty |
| Kellie: impoverished [slowly - broken down by syllable] impoverished [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Kellie: Our first vocab item is “jolly”. |
| John: This does mean happy and jovial, but in British English, it has a second meaning. It is used for holidays or business trips that are meant to be serious and purposeful, but are in reality just for fun. |
| Kellie: It’s a very colloquial term, isn’t it? |
| John: It is. It’s a very light-hearted and joking term. John |
| Kellie: Next is the idiom “ink was dry.” |
| John: If you imagine signing a contract in ink, it only takes a fraction of a second to dry, right? So this refers to something that happens very quickly, or quicker than would be expected. |
| Kellie: It’s commonly used for situations where there would be a contract or a signing of a name. |
| John: Yeah, although it can be used in other scenarios. In the dialogue, Lucy is referring to agreeing to the new job, and that it would be rude to immediately start asking about the benefits of the job. |
| Kellie: Finally, we have “impoverished”. |
| John: There is also the verb “to impoverish”, but we’re referring to the adjective “impoverished”. They are closely linked, and have similar meanings though. It means “to have been made poor”. |
| Kellie: Saying that a student is impoverished is the use I’ve heard the most, as John |
| John: Yeah, me too. Being a student and having to pay for tuition fees, books and general living costs would make anyone impoverished. |
| Kellie: True! Let’s move onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Kellie: In this lesson, you’ll learn about split infinitives. |
| John: Let’s quickly recap what an infinitive is first! It’s a verb in its basic form with no conjugations. This is sometimes called the dictionary form, and it follows the pattern of “to walk”, “to eat”, “to sleep”. |
| Kellie: It frequently has the particle “to” before the verb. |
| John: It does, but not always. A split infinitive is when a word is used in-between the particle and the verb. |
| Kellie: Literally, splitting the infinitive. |
| John: Yes. The words are usually adverbs or adverbial phrases, and they add extra descriptive power to the verb. |
| Kellie: Let’s hear some examples. |
| John: Okay. I’ll tell you a famous one. Do you like Star Trek? |
| Kellie: I love Star Trek! |
| John: What is the most famous quote from that show that appears in the opening credits? |
| Kellie: “To boldly go where no man has gone before”. |
| John: Yep! “To boldly go” - that’s a split infinitive. “Boldly” is splitting the infinitive “to go”. |
| Kellie: Wow, who knew Star Trek could be educational! |
| John: Anything can be educational! Another example is “to slowly walk”. |
| Kellie: “Slowly” is the adverb splitting the infinitive “to walk”. |
| John: Yeah. An example from the dialogue is “as much as I would love to frequently fly off with you to exotic countries”. It’s in the middle of the sentence but it’s still a split infinitive. |
| Kellie: “To frequently fly”, right? |
| John: Yes. John |
| Kellie: Any more examples? |
| John: “To rapidly start on the path to world domination isn’t a high priority!” – Although this is being said as part of her banter with John |
| Kellie: How about one more example? |
| John: This isn’t from the dialogue but “I plan on being able to skilfully dance this new routine soon”. |
| Kellie: By adding “skilfully”, the speaker is saying that they not only want to be able to dance the new routine, but they want to be able to do it well. |
| John: Yes, they are. Split infinitives have an interesting history, I think. |
| Kellie: What do you mean? |
| John: There has been a lot of debate about whether infinitives should be split or not. Some English speakers may even have been taught that you should down over the years, and it’s a lot more accepted now than it was. |
| Kellie: Star Trek can’t be wrong. |
| John: If you say so! |
Outro |
| Kellie: Okay, that’s all for this lesson and for this series. Please make sure you check the lesson notes, and if you have any questions, leave us a comment on this lesson at EnglishClass101.com. |
| John: Thanks for listening, and we hope you enjoyed the series! |
| Kellie: Bye everyone! |
| John: Bye! |
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