Lesson 30: Position of Adverbs

Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or clauses.
Adverbs often answer the questions "How?" and "In what way?" For example:

 She sings beautifully.

In what way does she sing? Beautifully.
 He runs very fast.
How fast does he run? Very fast.
 I occasionally practice speaking English.
How frequently do I practice? Occasionally.

The position of adverbs in the sentence depends on what type of adverb it is. Here
are some general guidelines.

#1 - 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.

 I carefully painted the house. = Correct

 I painted the house carefully. = Correct
 I painted carefully the house. = Incorrect

Here's another example. In this sentence, read is the verb, a book is the object,
and sometimes is the adverb.

 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

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Put it into practice!
Are these sentences correct or incorrect?

1. I carefully read the contract before signing it.

2. He ate hungrily the sandwich.
3. My tutor patiently showed me how to solve the problem.
4. Everyone understood perfectly the instructions.
5. She loves very much her children.
6. They sang the national anthem beautifully.
7. Rudely, someone interrupted the speaker.
8. I reluctantly acknowledged his point.

(Answers at the end of this document)

#2 - There are three normal positions for adverbs.

Front position: At the beginning of a clause

 Suddenly the phone rang.

 Fortunately, nobody was injured.
 Maybe I'll go for a walk.

Mid-position: Next to the main verb

 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.

The adverb goes before most verbs, but with the verb “to be,” it goes after it (as in
the third sentence).

End-position: At the end of a clause

 You speak English well.

 Please sit there.
 They ate dinner quietly.
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#3 - The position of adverbs depends on their type.
Some adverbs can go in various positions.
Adverbs of manner

Ex) quickly, slowly, easily, happily, well,* hard,* fast,* badly, seriously

 Mid-position gives less emphasis to the adverb:

o He quickly corrected his mistake.
o She easily passed the test.
o We happily accepted the invitation.
 End-position gives more emphasis to the adverb:
o He corrected his mistake quickly.
o She passed the test easily.
o We accepted the invitation happily.

* Adverbs of manner not ending in –ly (like well, hard, and fast) can only appear in
the end position:

 They dance well.

 He's working hard.
 She runs fast.

Put it into practice!

 Do you tend to work quickly or slowly?
I usually work quickly/slowly.
 What's one thing you do well?
I can ________________ well.

Adverbs of time & frequency

Adverbs of definite frequency include words like daily,* weekly,* every year, last
week, etc. These can go in the front-position or end-position (more common).

 I study English every day.

 Every day, I study English.

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  We went to Australia last year.
 Last year we went to Australia.

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

 I speak with my mother daily.

Daily I speak with my mother.
 Let's meet weekly to share updates on the project.

Adverbs of indefinite frequency include words like often, usually, frequently,

occasionally, sometimes, rarely, always, never, finally, eventually, and soon.

Always and never go in the mid-position, before the verb:

 I always wake up early.

 We never imagined this would be so hard.

The others can go in various positions:

 Soon you'll be finished with school.

You'll soon be finished with school.
You'll be finished with school soon.

 We occasionally drink wine.

Occasionally we drink wine.
We drink wine occasionally.
We drink occasionally wine. = Incorrect!
Remember never to put an adverb in between the verb and its object.

Put it into practice!

 What's one thing you do every day?
I _______________ every day.
 What's something you do once a year?
Once a year, I _____________________.
 What's one thing you're going to do soon?
I'm going to ___________________ soon.

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Adverbs of place

These are adverbs such as downstairs, outside, nearby, south/southward, towards,

backwards, and everywhere. They 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.

Connecting & commenting adverbs

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

Commenting adverbs show us the speaker's attitude or opinion about the

sentence: Ex) 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 doesn't have a job. Furthermore, he's not interested in finding one.
 I dropped my wallet on the street. Surprisingly, an honest person found it
and gave it back to me.
 They showed me all the products available. Honestly, I didn't like any of
them.

...although for some of them other positions are possible:

 They showed me all the products available.

I didn't like any of them, honestly.
I honestly didn't like any of them.

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Put it into practice!
 What's an honest opinion you have about something that other people might
disagree with?
I honestly think that _____________________
 When was the last time something fortunate happened to you?
Fortunately, ______________________
 Say one good point and one bad point about your life at the moment:
_______________________. However, ______________________
 Think about your favorite activity and say two good points about it:
________________________. Furthermore, _________________________

Adverbs of certainty

These are adverbs like definitely, certainly, clearly, obviously, probably, maybe, and
perhaps.

Maybe and perhaps usually go in the front-position:

 Maybe we'll go out to eat tonight.

 Perhaps I should explain further.

Other adverbs of certainty usually go in the mid-position – before the verb, except
in the case of the verb “to be,” when they are placed afterwards.

 We'll probably go out to eat tonight.

 I should definitely explain further.
 He clearly made a mistake.
 That's certainly not the case.

Put it into practice!

 What's something you might do in the future?
Maybe I'll _________________
 What's something you're definitely going to do in the future?
I'm definitely going to ___________________

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Emphasizing adverbs

Words like very, really, extremely, terribly, quite, pretty, and almost usually go in
the mid-position, immediately before the word that they emphasize.

 We're very tired.

 Their new house is really impressive.
 He plays the piano extremely badly.
 This lesson is pretty easy to understand.
 The employees are terribly underpaid.
 It's quite generous of you to let me stay at your house.
 We almost got lost in the city.

Put it into practice!

 When was the last time you were very surprised?
I was very surprised when _____________________
 What's one thing you're really excited about?
I'm really excited about _________________
 What's a topic you find extremely interesting?
I find ___________________ extremely interesting.
 What's one time you almost made a mistake (but didn't?)
I almost ___________________

Summary
 Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or clauses.
Adverbs often answer the questions "How?" and "In what way?"
 Do not place an adverb between a verb and its object.
o I carefully painted the house. = Correct
o I painted the house carefully. = Correct
o I painted carefully the house. = Incorrect
 Adverbs can be placed in three positions:
o Front of a clause
Soon you'll be finished with school.

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 o Mid-position (next to the main verb)
You'll soon be finished with school.
o End of a clause
You'll be finished with school soon.
 The position of adverbs depends on their type. Some adverbs can go in
various positions.

You’ve finished Lesson 30! Now try the exercises for more practice with the correct
positions of adverbs in a sentence.

Answers – Quiz inside Lesson

1. I carefully read the contract before signing it.
Correct
2. He ate hungrily the sandwich. – Incorrect
He hungrily ate the sandwich / He ate the sandwich hungrily.
3. My tutor patiently showed me how to solve the problem.
Correct
4. Everyone understood perfectly the instructions. – Incorrect
Everyone understood the instructions perfectly.
5. She loves very much her children. – Incorrect
She loves her children very much.
6. They sang the national anthem beautifully.
Correct
7. Someone interrupted rudely the speaker. – Incorrect
Someone rudely interrupted the speaker.
8. I reluctantly acknowledged his point.
Correct

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Quiz – Lesson 30 – Position of Adverbs
Put each adverb in the right position in the sentence. Occasionally, more than one
correct answer is possible.

1. The kids are playing.

(outside)
2. I took some time off from work.
(recently)
3. He finished his breakfast.
(fast)
4. He speaks French and German.
(fluently)
5. She dropped her phone, but it didn't break.
(fortunately)
6. I don't think he's qualified for the job.
(frankly)
7. We're having a party.
(next week)
8. I find this situation ridiculous.
(completely)
9. My parents won't approve of this.
(definitely)
10. The patients in this hospital are children.
(mostly)
11. There must have been a mistake.
(obviously)
12. We stay up past midnight.
(rarely)

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 13. The classroom was silent during the exam.
(totally)
14. He isn't recovered from the surgery yet.
(fully)
15. She took my jacket instead of hers.
(accidentally)
16. I fell off the bike when I turned the corner.
(nearly)
17. The wedding invitations are ready.
(finally)
18. The board of directors reviews the financial statements.
(yearly)
19. He cleans up after himself.
(never)
20. You guys go ahead; I'll join you.
(later)

Writing Task
In every country and society, there are some issues or current events that are
considered controversial. Choose one controversy, describe it, and then argue
persuasively in support of your opinion on the issue. In your text, use at least four of
the commenting adverbs from this list. Send me your text at
shayna@espressoenglish.net for feedback and correction!

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Answers – Quiz – Lesson 30
1. The kids are playing outside.
2. I recently took some time off from work.
I took some time off from work recently.
3. He finished his breakfast fast.
4. He speaks French and German fluently.
5. She dropped her phone, but fortunately it didn't break.
6. Frankly, I don't think he's qualified for the job.
7. We're having a party next week. (more common)
Next week, we’re having a party.
8. I find this situation completely ridiculous.
9. My parents definitely won't approve of this.
10. The patients in this hospital are mostly children.
11. Obviously, there must have been a mistake.
12. We rarely stay up past midnight.
13. The classroom was totally silent during the exam.
14. He isn't fully recovered from the surgery yet.
15. She accidentally took my jacket instead of hers.
16. I nearly fell off the bike when I turned the corner.
17. The wedding invitations are finally ready.
18. The board of directors reviews the financial statements yearly.
19. He never cleans up after himself.
20. You guys go ahead; I'll join you later.

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