Eli5: why is it that nearly every verb that gets translated into English is translated as “to X”? For example; German: “kaufen”=English: “to buy”; Spanish: “gusto” =English: “to like”. Why is that?
In: Other
That’s where to the term “split the infinitive” comes from. “To be” is literally a single thought. Many other languages use a single word: “etre” in French, for example. So when people say “he needs to really be good”, they’ve broken up “to be” – split it, if you will – and added a word between. It should be “he really needs to be good”, or “he needs to be really good,”
Edit for clarity. The bad example above leaves it vague as to what needs to occur. Are we desperate that he’s good, or do we need him to be extremely good. The position of “really” clears it up once it’s in the proper spot. If it’s life or death if he isn’t good, he really needs to be good. If he needs to prove his angelic qualities, he needs to be really good. Putting really between “to be” ruins our ability to know what the intention is. (Typing on an iPad sucks, btw. Sorry about all the edits.)
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