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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065 |
This came up at work today.
We agree not to refer to OR We agree to not refer to.
I think they are different but I can't quite put my finger on what the difference in meaning is.
Bingley
Bingley
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
I've seen better examples. This one is a little hard to wrap around and the split infinitive sounds wrong. Dub Dub' aside, split infinitives should have a reason for being, either to avoid ambiguity or to avoid awkwardness. I can't think of a good example just right now but I'm sure something will come up.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
The second one is more emphatic; more specific; more active. It takes more effort (specificity) to decide to not do something than it does to decide not to do it.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
We agree not to refer to OR We agree to not refer to.
[…] the difference in meaning
For me, they are different because there is a sort of ghost-parsing or an echo of archaic usage in the first example: it could break down into
> We [agree not] [to refer] [to x]
which would render the meaning as “we don’t agree to refer to x”, in contrast to the clear and certain meaning of the second example (“we {positively} agree to not refer to x”)
English word order tends to prioritise important information to the head of the sentence. When you encounter a negative word in third place, the brain is trying to apply it to the preceding statement, hence leading to ambiguity.
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Joined: Mar 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
By agreement, we choose to refer not.
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230 |
>hence leading to ambiguity.
Ambiguity - the Devil's volleyball.
wnsftd.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624 |
Frankly, I don't think there's a meaningful difference between the two approaches. The only difference is in the eye of the beholder. I would read them both as being the same.
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