Thread: to not + inf and not + to inf

I meant the misunderstanding that might arise from using 'not to do smth'. I didn't know there's such nuance involved where "How not to get hit by cars" = "How to get hit by cars in the proper fashion". To me "How not to get hit by cars" sounded like "How to avoid getting hit by cars". That's why I asked.

bitpicker Thank you very much, you gave me a great explanation. This question was bugging me for a long time.

Demonic_Duck and thank you for correcting my message, I like being corrected. (though I'm not a masohist lol)

Originally Posted by Ramil

Is it a general rule regarding 'how not to...'?

Actually, I am starting thinking about it myself :how to differ when you can use 'to + not + inf' and when you can't? So the new question arised....

Originally Posted by Ramil

I meant the misunderstanding that might arise from using 'not to do smth'. I didn't know there's such nuance involved where "How not to get hit by cars" = "How to get hit by cars in the proper fashion". To me "How not to get hit by cars" sounded like "How to avoid getting hit by cars". That's why I asked.

Ah yes, it seems I was too hasty with my original post. I would still definitely recommend that you avoid using "to" + "not" + "infinitive" in formal situations though.

"How not to get hit by cars" sounds ambiguous because it is naturally split up into "How not to...." and "...get hit by cars". This implies there is a right way and a wrong way to get hit by cars, and that this article will tell you the wrong way. As another example, if the article was called "How not to [....] buy a house", you would assume it was going to tell you what the wrong way of buying a house was. On the other hand, an article entitled "How to not [....] buy a house" sounds like it will teach you how to avoid buying a house!