Adverb order in English: the definitive scheme

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In English, adverbs have even more flexibility in terms of their position than in Spanish : they can occupy the initial , middle , and final positions in a sentence. But not all adverbs can be placed anywhere. In this article you will find a summary of the possible positions of each type .



General rules
Changing the position of an adverb is a very useful resource to shift the taiwan phone number list of a sentence or even to change its meaning . The three possible positions are:

Starting position :
The first element of the sentence.

Example :

– Suddenly I felt afraid.



Average position :
Between the subject and the main verb. If there is more than one verb, this position occurs after the first auxiliary verb or after the modal verb . In questions, it goes between the subject and the main verb.

Examples:

-They always find a way.
-He has occasionally been known to steal small objects.
-We might never have met.
-Do you ever listen?



Final position:
The last element of the sentence.


Examples : -He left the building quickly .




As a general rule, if the main verb is " be ", the adverb comes after it:

–She is normally right about things.

Except if we pronounce " be " with emphasis, in which case it is possible to put it in front:

–She is normally right about things.

Free ebook: comparatives and superlatives in English

There is also a tendency to avoid putting an adverb between an infinitive " to " and its verb , although this rule is full of exceptions , and in colloquial language it tends to be completely ignored.