POSITION OF ADVERB

RULES: DO NOT PLACE AN ADVERB BETWEEN A VERB AND ITS OBJECT.

In the following sentence, painted is the verb, and the house is the object. Carefully is the adverb

1. I carefully painted the house = Correct

2. I painted the house carefully. = Correct
3. I painted carefully the house. = Incorrect
Heres another example. In this sentence, read is the verb, a book is the object, and sometimes is the
adverb.

1.
2.
3.
4.

I sometimes read a book before bed. = Correct

Sometimes I read a book before bed. = Correct
I read a book before bed sometimes. = OK, but informal
I read sometimes a book before bed. = Incorrect

### THERE ARE THREE NORMAL POSITIONS FOR ADVERBS.

FRONT POSITION: AT THE BEGINNING OF A CLAUSE

1.
2.
3.

Suddenly the phone rang.

Fortunately, nobody was injured.
Maybe Ill go for a walk.

MID-POSITION: NEXT TO THE MAIN VERB

1.
2.
3.
4.

I always exercise before work.

They have completely forgotten about our appointment.
He was probably late for the interview.
She slowly began to recover from her illness.

END-POSITION: AT THE END OF A CLAUSE

1.
2.
3.

You speak English well.

Please sit there.
They ate dinner quietly.

## THE POSITION OF ADVERBS DEPENDS ON THEIR TYPE. SOME ADVERBS CAN GO IN VARIOUS
POSITIONS.
Adverb of Manner
These adverbs are put behind the direct object (or behind the verb if there's no direct object).

Mid-position gives less emphasis to the adverb:

1.
2.
3.

He quickly corrected his mistake.

She easily passed the test.
We happily accepted the invitation.

End-position gives more emphasis to the adverb:

1.
2.
3.

He corrected his mistake quickly.

She passed the test easily.
We accepted the invitation happily.

Adverbs of manner not ending in -ly (like well, hard, and fast) can only appear in the end position:
1.
2.
3.

They dance well.

Hes working hard.
She runs fast.

Adverbs of Time

Adverbs of time are usually put at the end of the sentence.

I will tell you the story tomorrow

If you don't want to put emphasis on the time, you can also put the adverb of time at the beginning of the
sentence.
Tomorrow I will tell you the story.

Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of frequency are put directly before the main verb. If 'be' is the main verb and there is no
auxiliary verb, adverbs of frequency are put behind 'be'. Is there an auxiliary verb, however, adverbs
of frequency are put before 'be'.

I often go swimming in the evenings.

He doesn't always play tennis.
We are usually here in summer.
I have never been abroad.

The single-word adverbs of frequency cannot go in the front-position:

I speak with my mother daily.
Lets meet weekly to share updates on the project.

ADVERBS OF PLACE

Usually go in end-position or mid-position immediately after the verb:

The children are playing outside.

The glass shattered and the pieces flew everywhere.
They drove south/southward on the highway.
He walked towards the police station.

More than one adverb at the end of a sentence

If there are more adverbs at the end of a sentence, the word order is normally:
Manner Place Time
Peter sang the song happily in the bathroom yesterday evening.

CONNECTING & COMMENTING ADVERBS

Connecting adverbs show the relationship between events or ideas: however, anyway, then, next, similarly,
additionally, furthermore, otherwise.

Commenting adverbs show us the speakers attitude or opinion about the sentence: fortunately, surprisingly,
stupidly, personally, honestly.
Both of these usually go in the front-position
First I went to the bank. Then I went to the post office.
The test will be difficult. However, the students are well prepared.
He doesnt have a job. Furthermore, hes not interested in finding one.

although for some of them other positions are possible:

They showed me all the products available. I didnt like any of them, honestly.
They showed me all the products available. I honestly didnt like any of them.

ADVERBS OF CERTAINTY

(definitely, certainly, clearly, obviously, probably, maybe, perhaps.)

Maybe and perhaps usually go in the front-position:

Maybe well go out to eat tonight.
Perhaps I should explain further.
Other adverbs of certainty usually go in the mid-position:
Well probably go out to eat tonight.
I should definitely explain further.
He clearly made a mistake.
Thats certainly not the case.

EMPHASIZING ADVERBS

(very, really, extremely, terribly, quite, pretty, almost)

These words usually go in the mid-position, immediately before the word that they emphasize.
Were very tired.
Their new house is really impressive.
He plays the piano extremely badly.

Position with here and there

If the subject is a pronoun (it/he/she/you etc.), it comes directly after the adverbs here and there. If the subject
is a noun, it comes directly after the verb:
Here she is. Not: Here is she.
There it goes. Not: There goes it.
Here comes the bus. Not: Here the bus comes.