Position of Adverbs

 

(i) Adverb of Manner that answers the question "HOW" means how something is done.

Example: Well, fast, quickly, carefully, etc. 

Such adverbs are generally placed after the verb or if there is an object, then after it. 

For Example:

• It is raining heavily.
• The ship is going slowly.
• Walk quickly.
• He does his work carefully.
• The ship is going slowly.

(ii) Adverbs of place and Adverbs of time are often placed after the verb or if there is an object. 

For Example:

• He will come here.
• They are to be married next week.
• I met him yesterday.
• I looked everywhere.
• Hang the picture there.

Among them, here, everywhere, there, etc. are adverbs of place and next week, yesterday, etc are adverbs of time.

(iii) If there are two or more Adverbs after the verb or object, their order will be as follows:

 First the place, then the time and then the adverbs of manner will come.

Examples:

• He spoke earnestly at the meeting last night.
• She sang well at the concert.
• We should go there tomorrow evening.

In example #2, "Concert" is the adverb of manner. 

In example #3, "there" is an adverb of place.

(Which as a rule has been used before)

(iv) Adverbs of frequency tell us how many times a task has been done.

For example, 

         Always, never, often, rarely, usually, and generally.

Some other specific adverbs like almost, already, hardly, nearly, etc. are usually placed between the subject and the object. 

If the verb consists of only one word, they are often placed after the first word.

Examples:

• I have often told him to write neatly.
• His wife never cooks meals.
• He has never seen a tiger.

In example #1 there are many functions like have, told and write etc. So we put adverbs after the first verb.

In example #2, since there is only one verb, cooks. That is why we have placed adverbs between the subject and the verb.

In example #3 has more than one verb has, seen etc. So we put adverbs after the first verb.

(v) If the verb is one of: is, am, are, or was. So the adverbs given above will be placed after one of these verbs.

For example:

• I am never late for school.
• We are just off
• He is always at home on Sundays.

(vi) Adverbs of number (iv) are often used before auxiliary verbs or just before the single verb "be". While this verb should be stressed

For example:

• Abdul has come late again.

"Yes", he always does come late.

• When will you write the essay? 

"but I already have written it."

• Do you eat meat?

"yes, I sometimes do." 

The auxiliary verbs has to and have to are often placed after an adverb.

Examples:

• I often have to go to school on foot.
• He often has to do so.
• He always used to agree with me.

(viii) When an adverb adds to the meaning of an adjective or another adverb. So adverb is usually placed before it.

Example:

• The dog was quite dead.
• Nisar is a rather lazy boy.
• The book is very interesting.
• Do not speak so fast.
• Naila is a very beautiful girl.

In these examples, lazy is an adjective. And "rather" which is an adverb adds meaning.

Dead which is an adverb. And quite which itself is an adverb.

(Adverb adds to the meaning of another adverb)