Right Position of Adverbs: English Grammar Tricks

Adverb is one of the significant parts of speech in English grammar. It is among the essential elements that a complete sentence consists of. An adverb modified the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Adverbs are of seven types. There are guidelines regarding the position of adverbs in sentences. Many students make mistakes in placing adverbs in a sentence. Placing adverbs rightly in sentences is one of the English grammar tricks that students need to know.   

The guidelines on where to place adverbs in sentence: 

Adverbs of manner like ‘well’, ‘quickly’, ‘fast’, ‘carefully’ ‘beautifully’, ‘wonderfully’ etc. are usually placed after the verb or the object in a sentence. For example, 

·         He speaks fast.

·         She works wonderfully.   

·         It is raining incessantly.

·         She sings melodiously.     

   

Adverbs of place or adverb phrases of place like ‘there’, ‘here’, ‘anywhere’, ‘everywhere’, ‘on the table’ etc and adverbs of time like ‘today’, ‘everyday’, ‘yesterday’, ‘then’ etc are generally placed after the verb or the object in a sentence. For example, 

·         We looked for it everywhere.

·         Keep the book on the table.

·         I went there yesterday.

·         He will leave for America next week. 

When two or more than two adverbs are there after a verb or its object in a sentence, the adverb of manner is followed by the adverb of place and the adverb of time is placed at the end. For example, 

·         The band entertained the audience amazingly in the function yesterday.  

·         He spoke earnestly at the meeting last night.

·         He can do any work meticulously anywhere and anytime.

In these three sentences: 

·         Adverb of manner – amazingly, earnestly, meticulously

·         Adverb of place – in the function, at the meeting, anywhere

·         Adverb of time – yesterday, last night, anytime 

Adverbs of frequency like ‘always’, ‘often’, ‘usually’, ‘rarely’, ‘never’ etc and other adverbs like ‘already’, ‘almost’, ‘nearly’, ‘quite’, ‘just’ etc. are placed between the subject and the verb. For example, 

·         He never plays cricket.

·         She just returned from work.

·         They quite agree with me. 

If the verb after the subject is a be-verb like am, is, are, was or were, the adverbs of frequency are put after the verb, not between the subject and the verb. For example, 

·         He is always anxious.

·         He is never late for school.

·         She is always busy doing something.  

When an adjective is modified by an adverb, the adverb is usually put before the adjective. For example, 

·         The movie is very interesting.

·         We are much interested to visit the place.

·         He is a rather lazy boy.  

The adverb ‘enough’ always comes after the word which it modifies. For example,

 

·         The distance is long enough from here.

·         She speaks loud enough to be heard.

·         The book is large enough to be read over a long time.