Place of Adverbial Modifiers Expressed by Adverbs

1. The adverb has a greater freedom of position than other parts of speech and it is difficult to give fixed and definite rules regarding its position in the sentence.

2. The following rules can be given:

1. An adverb mUst not separate the direct object from the transitive verb which governs it:

I have a letter to-day... (Gissing.) Wilson shook his head meditatively. (Kingsley.)

2. An adverb can be placed between the verb and its direct object if a whole group of modifiers follows the object:

He has translated correctly some sentences from The Pick­wick Club.

3. Adverbs of definite time (early, late, to-day, to-night, yesterday, to-morrow) stand at the end of the sentence; and when stressed, at the beginning:

“We shall have rain to-morrow.” (Voynich.) “I told you as much yesterday.” (Galsworthy.) “Your advice has helped me to-day.” (Meredith.) Winter set in early... (Cronin.) Yesterday I passed by an elm avenue, leading to a beautiful old house. (Gissing.) To-night the wind is loud, and rain dashes against my casement; to-morrow I shall awake to a sky of win­ter. (Gissing.)

4. Adverbs of indefinite time and frequency (often, seldom, sometimes, always, rarely, usually, etc.) stand before the verb, but usually follow the verbs to be, to have, can, may, must, ought:

Tom never disobeyed his father... (Eliot.) He often took Irene to the theatre... (Galsworthy.) I never thought of that till afterwards... (Dickens.) But: “I could never have thought it.” (Brontё.) You are often the last to arrive. You .must always be on time.

If emphasis is intended and the auxiliary or modal (defective) verb has a special stress, the adverb of indefinite time is placed before it.

Also with to be and to have used as notional verbs:

“I never had such a wonderful holiday in my life...” (Cusack.) “I never was more surprised,” said Mr. Domby. (Dickens.)

I never shall forget the waking, next morning... (Dickens.)

John is rarely late and you invariably are.

In a compound tense the adverb usually stands after the first auxiliary verb:

...Irene was still standing in the doorway. (Galsworthy.) ...he was rarely heard to speak... (Irving.) “He is always thinking about other people.” (Maxwell.) I have just opened this window... (Bront§.)

In interrogative sentences the adverb of indefinite time is placed after the subject (auxiliary or modal [defective] verb — subject — adverb):

Are you ever in time? Must you always begin your work at nine? Can you never do it properly? Did you ever tell him the reason? Have you already spoken to her? Do you sometimes go there? Has this book already been translated?

Note. — If an interrogative pronoun is the subject of the sentence or modifies the subject, the word order is the same as that of a declarative sen­tence:

Who has ever been there? Who ever heard of such a thing?

5. Adverbs of degree modifying a verb occupy the same position as adverbs of indefinite time and frequency:

The sky had partly cleared... (Dickens.) Silas did not highly enjoy smoking... (Eliot.) “I hardly understand even what you mean.” (Dickens.) She scarcely knew her neigh­bours yet. (Lawrence.) She has fully mastered the subject.

6. Adverbs of place follow the verb or its direct object:

i He didn’t go anywhere. I saw him there yesterday. He takes his dinner here.

If a sentence contains both an adverb of place and an adverb of time, the adverb of place usually goes first:

We must meet there to-morrow. She went there very early. “Your grandfather came down here once...” (Galsworthy.)

7. Adverbs of manner are generally placed after the verb or, if the verb has a direct object, after the direct object:

The Captain nodded gravely. (Dickens.) The rain beat strongly against the panes, the wind blew tempestuously... (Вгоп1ё.) The water glimmered faintly under a star-bright sky... (Cusack.) ...he... smoked his pipe incessantly. (Irving.) Paul resumed his task silently. (Lawrence.)

8. Adverbs which modify an adjective, or another ad­verb, should precede the word they modify:

It was everywhere perfectly still... (Lawrence.) The sky.„ was very gloomy... (Dickens.) Mrs. Steerforth was particu­larly happy in her son’s society. (Dickens.) ...he began to work very deliberately and carefully. (London.)

9. Enough usually follows the word it modifies:

The three days were, as she had foretold, busy enough. (Bront§.) “Oh no, it’s simple enough.” (Jerome.) They all know him well enough. (Marryat.) “...you are poor enough.”^- (Dickens.)