Adverbs and word order

It's not always easy to know where to put the adverb in a sentence. Generally, adverbs can go in three different positions. But remember that not all adverbs can go in all three positions. The positions are:

Mid-position (before the verb...
"I sometimes play golf at the weekend."
"Jackie always calls on my birthday"."

...or after the first auxiliary verb but before the main verb):
"Jim doesn't always remember to take his medication."
"She has never been a team player."
"Do you usually have lunch that early?"

End position:
"She finished her drink quickly."
"Walter got up suddenly."

Initial position:
"Suddenly, Walter got up."
"Sometimes I play golf at the weekend."

It's not usual to put an adverb between the verb and its object.
You can't say: "I play sometimes golf."

Adverbs of indefinite time and frequency (often, recently, sometimes) can go in mid-position or end position:
"Kyle often comes here."
"Kyle comes here often." 

Adverbs used to say how well something is done (well, badly) are not put in mid-position but in end position.
"She didn't play the piano very well."
"They organized the event really badly."

Adverbs telling us how something is done (slowly, quickly, happily) can go in mid-position or end position.
"Kate slowly reversed the car."
"Kate reversed the car slowly."

Now try the exercise on the next page.

Dagmar Taylor