"decide to not go" and "try to not make mistakes"

[hirashin]

Dear native English speakers
My dictionaries say neither (a) nor (b) is correct. What do you think?
(a) I decided to not go.
(b) I try to not make mistakes.

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin

 

[diligentcircle]

They don't look wrong to me. The only possible way I can imagine them being "incorrect" is based on the made-up "rule" against split infinitives.

 

[nice gaijin]

you can flip "to not" to say "not to," and it would probably be considered... more correct... but most native speakers wouldn't bat an eye at this.

 

[hirashin]

Thank you for the help, Nice gaijin-san.
To tell you the truth, the dictionary that says (b) is incorrect is Longman online dictionary. not | meaning of not in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE

It says:
Not goes before 'to' in an infinitive verb.
You say: I try not to make mistakes.
✗Don't say: I try to not make mistakes.

Maybe British people do not use this structure.

 

[nice gaijin]

yeah, a grammarian would probably mark it as incorrect, and people who had it beaten into them as students might flinch, but no one would wonder what you meant. And you'll hear a lot of native speakers making this mistake.

It's like conbini keigo; at what point is it no longer considered "wrong?"

 

[johnnyG]

(a) I decided to not go.
(b) I try to not make mistakes.

I don't like (a) at all, while (b) seems marginally possible. Using "not to" in each case makes them perfectly acceptable.

 

[Majestic]

I think both placements are correct. I don't see anything wrong with either usage.
Check out the below for a more authoritative discussion:
negation - Order of "not" with infinitive - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

 

[hirashin]

Thanks for the help, johnnyG and Majestic.