Pedants! Which one is correct?

[AnotherDFSsale]

After the World Mental Health Awareness event recently, I have seen the following variations of a phrase, especially on social media, and I can’t work out which one is right!

It’s ok not to be ok.

It’s ok to not be ok.

It’s ok to be not ok.

Grammatically, which one is correct? Thanks

I'd say the first two sound better to me. But they all make sense - I think it's just down to preference. I prefer the middle one.

I think they are all correct but the middle one sounds/ reads the best

The middle one sounds best but grammatically they are all acceptable.

They are all acceptably grammatical but I think the middle one makes the point better. It's OK to NOT be OK.

Middle.

The middle one splits the infinitive, but the sense is closest to the sentiment intended.

The second.

If it read 'its ok to not like prosecco' does that read properly? I think the repeated 'ok' in your original sentence makes it sound a little odd.

It's ok to not give a fuck.
It's ok to not enjoy clubbing.
It's ok to not wear fresh pyjamas every night

They’re all fine. Grammar purists might argue that the middle one is incorrect as it has a split infinitive (ie the ‘to’ and the ‘be’ should be kept together) but this is a very old- fashioned view, largely based isn’t he fact that infinitives in Latin are single words and so cannot be split.

My preference is the last one as it emphasises the state of being ‘not ok’, and it’s a fairly non-standard way of phrasing it, which adds that emphasis.