infinitive of purpose (negative form) not to do sg or to not do sg?

[Gaborberegsasy]

Which form is the best one?

not to do something

or

to not do something?

I insist on not to do sg but I've heared the other form, too.

Thanks a lot.
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[Mister Micawber]

The first is the usual form, but sometimes the adverb can take the other position:

I told you not to do that.
To tell us that you're going to do it and then to not do it is unfair.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Esl_Expert]

Hello Gaborberegsasy,

Unfortunately, the sample format you posted is not a good one because you should use a gerund rather than an infinitive after "insist on":

- She insisted on buying a new car despite his objections.
- He insisted on not being identified as the source of the information.

Without the preposition "on", you can use this format (the verbs "buy" and "identify" are subjunctive, not infinitives):

- She insisted (that) he buy her a new car.
- He insisted (that) I not identify him as the source of the information.

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You can use "not to do something" this way, for example:

- He told me not to identify him as the source of the information.

That would be a very typical format.

You will also see "to not do something" occasionally. This would not be as common, but it is sometimes used because "not to" might sound awkward. Here is an example:

- I'd like to not make a habit of doing this.

In my opinion, the words "I'd like not to" would sound more awkward than "I'd like to not". That's probably due to the fact that the collocation "I'd like to" is such a fixed sort of collocation.

I'd say the "to not do" word order is also sometimes used in order to emphasize the negation of the verb. (I'd say this is what Mister Micawber's second example illustrates.)

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"Knowledge is two-fold, and consists not only in an affirmation of what is true, but in the negation of that which is false."