student asking question

If I change the order of the words and say "defense is not to fight", does the meaning change?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

You can change "the best defense is to not fight at all" to "the best defense is not to fight at all" and it would not change the meaning of the sentence. Both can be used here. Ex: The best course of action is to not stay silent. Ex: The best course of action is not to stay silent.

Popular Q&As

04/25

Complete the expression with a quiz!