position of adverbs

“Functional English”
ENG-101
Lecture 10
“Position of Adverbs”
By: Tariq Amin
Lecturer, Dept of English,
KUST
Course: Functional English ENG-101 - Instructor: Tariq Amin, Lecturer, Dept of English, KUST - Email: tariq.ktk.733@gmail.com

Discussion Agenda
 Position of Adverbs
 Three positions
 Adverbs used in any of the three positions
 Position of adverbs of manner, place and time in one sentence
Topic: Position of Adverbs

Three Positions of Adverbs
1. Front
For example:
i. Gradually, he changed his mind.
ii. Sometimes, I play cricket with my friends.

2. Middle of a sentence
For example:
i. They always speak English.
ii. We are almost ready.
iii. I have never said that.

Note
 With main verbs, the adverb comes before the verb.
For example: They always speak English.
 With “be” (is, am, are, was, were etc.), it comes after the verb.
For example: we are almost ready.

 With auxiliaries and modals, it is placed after the auxiliary/modal (between the
auxiliary/modal and the main verb)
For example: I have never said that.
She will probably join us.

3. End of a sentence
For example:
i. He spoke about his plans at the meeting.
ii. She has been attending the English class regularly.

Adverbs used in any of the three positions
The following adverbs can be used in any of the positions in a sentence.
 Adverb of Manner
For example: In this chapter we briefly examine the latest developments in Linguistics.
Briefly, I think we should join this project.
He explained the situation briefly.

 Adverb of Time
For example: The situation suddenly changed.
The situation changed suddenly.
Suddenly, the situation changed.

 Adverb of Probability
For example: This is obviously a mistake.
This is a mistake, obviously.
Obviously, this is a mistake.

 Adverb of Aspect
For example: Technically, this is no problem.
This is no problem, technically.
This is, technically, no problem.

Position of Adverbs of Manner, Place and Time in one sentence
Normal position of the adverbs:
For Example:
Manner Place Time
He worked very hard last semester.
I didn’t participate in that conference last year.
He explained that problem thoroughly at the seminar last week.

The position of adverbs can be changed in order to
 emphasize/draw attention to one adverb:
For example: Last year I didn´t participate in that conference.

 avoid putting the longest adverb in the middle:
For example: I lived quite happily for one year in one of the remotest places in the
world.

 avoid placing too many adverbs in the end position:
for example: In the mountains it is dangerous to drive quickly in winter.

Position of Adverbs
When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, the adverb usually comes before
it.
For example: The book is very interesting.
He speaks quite well.

Position of Adverbs
The adverb only should be placed immediately before the word it modifies.
For example: I worked only three hours.
He has slept only three hours.

Position of Adverbs
The adverb enough is always placed after the word which id modifies.
For example: He spoke loud enough to be heard.

THANK YOU

position of adverbs

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