Nice question, Era. That’s actually a common grammar myth, which is the supposed prohibition of the “split-infinitive”. In reality, there is no such rule, so if you watch the international news report on TV, the anchor will use the split and non-split infinitives equally. Era, since you’re a non-native speaker, it wouldn’t hurt for you to avoid the so-called split infinitive, but just keep in mind that educated native speakers use both forms all the time and the “rule” is absolute nonsense. That being said, note that there is a famous Shakespeare line, "to be or not to be" — please don't change it ;)

I like your question too, almost as much as Phil and Luiz do. Luiz explained the 'split infinitive rule' very carefully, and Phil equally carefully explained that this rule doesn't exist. The truth is that the rule does exist but, like so many 'rules' in English, only some of us follow it, and then only sometimes. There is no rule to tell us when to follow it or when not to. Many British English speakers avoid splitting infinitives if we can; for example I would never say 'try to not forget', it sounds awful to me. Phil, as a speaker of US English, finds this more acceptable. Luiz's native language is Portuguese, which gives him more respect for rules of language than either Phil or me.

Hey Era, how are you? Firstly, I would like to congratulate you upon making such an interesting question. Secondly, you should know that the form ''to not...'' is not considered to be standard English, though you may hear some people say it in daily conversation. So, when it comes to using the word ''not'' with to-infinitives, I advise you to put ''not'' in front of ''to'', not after it. E.g.: ''The Prime Minister has asked us not to discuss the issue publicly any more.'' E.g.: ''I decided not to go to that party.'' E.g.: ''My brother keeps telling me not to stay out too late.'' E.g.: ''The Priest told us not to lose faith in Our Holy Father.'' E.g.: ''He did the right thing - I told him not to repent of his actions.'' Hope that helps!!!