Should you duplicate prepositions when using conjunctions? [closed]

Question

Should you duplicate prepositions when using conjunctions?

Example sentence:

• I swam across the river to exercise and to relax.

Grammatically, I believe it makes equal sense as the following sentence:

• I swam across the river to exercise and relax.

However, is it preferable to remove the preposition after the first?

And is there a style guide rule someone can provide that mentions this scenario?

Answer 1

We use multiple infinitives [to + verb] to state a series of activities.

If exercise and relax happen simultaneously with swimming, you better remove the second to.

However, if your swimming in the lake is your exercise [or maybe not] and your relaxing are different activities, then it's better to use multiple infinitives.

"I swam across the river to exercise and to relax."

Here is a reference on how to use infinitives. Take notice of one example in the linked article:

“Today, I plan to run three miles, to clean my room, and to update my budget.”