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Sun Jan 13, 2008 7:26 am position of 'very often' in a sentence |
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"Often" can go in any of three positions in the sentence:
"Often I go swimming." "I often go swimming." "I go swimming often."
There are some adverbs that go right after the position of the first auxiliary verb, some that go at the beginning of the sentence, some that go at the end, and some that can go in two of those places or all three. It's got nothing to do with it being an adverb of frequency, and everything to do with the properties of the specific adverb.
For reasons I can't figure out, ESL books have recently been changed to tell students that adverbs of that type go "before the main verb". This is wrong, though. Really, adverbs that go in the middle of the sentence go after the position of the first auxiliary verb, not before the main verb.
Telling students to put the adverb "before the main verb" causes them to produce a lot of badly ungrammatical sentences, such as:
BAD! : It would have been never finished if you hadn't helped us. Should be: It would never have been finished if you hadn't helped us.
It also causes the students to produce a lot of sentences that don't violate the rules but are nonetheless clumsy and slightly illiterate sounding:
Clumsy: I would have never finished it if you hadn't helped me. Better: I would never have finished it if you hadn't helped me. |
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 4337 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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Sun Jan 13, 2008 11:22 am position of 'very often' in a sentence |
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Dear Jamie,
Thanks for your answer.
Well, it's guite clear that I have to put the adverb not in front of the main verb, but after the first aux. (when there is an aux.) in the sentence.
But how should I know about an adverb where I can put it in a sentence and where I can't? Dictionaries normally don't state it, at least not in all cases.
E.g.: what is the situation with: 'rarely' and 'always'. Which is correct from the below sentences? All of them? (Until know I've thought that just the first is OK.)
I rarely go swimming. Rarely I go swimming. I go swimming rarely.
I always do my homework in the evening. Always I do my homework in the evening. I do my homework in the evening always.
Thanks for your answer. Liza |
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Liza I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 20 Feb 2007 Posts: 101
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Sun Jan 13, 2008 13:07 pm position of 'very often' in a sentence |
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| Liza wrote: | E.g.: what is the situation with: 'rarely' and 'always'. Which is correct from the below sentences? All of them? (Until know I've thought that just the first is OK.)
I rarely go swimming. OK Rarely I go swimming. Inversion needed: Rarely do I go swimming. I go swimming rarely. OK, but not as typical as mid-sentence. In my opinion, it would be more typical to put 'rarely' at the end if it is combined with other words such as 'only' or 'only very': I go swimming only very rarely.
I always do my homework in the evening. OK Always I do my homework in the evening. NO I do my homework in the evening always. Not typical unless the word 'always' is added as an after-thought like this, for example: I do my homework in the evening -- always.
| Hi Liza Some adverbs of frequency are more flexible than others with regard to their placement in a sentence.
Adverbs of frequency with a negative sense such as never, rarely and seldom usually result in subject-verb inversion when they are placed at the beginning of a sentence or clause. . _________________ Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English |
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Yankee I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 16 Apr 2006 Posts: 7787 Location: USA
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Sun Jan 13, 2008 15:42 pm position of 'very often' in a sentence |
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| Liza wrote: | | But how should I know about an adverb where I can put it in a sentence and where I can't? Dictionaries normally don't state it, at least not in all cases. |
Yes, this is a serious deficiency of English dictionaries.
| Liza wrote: | | E.g.: what is the situation with: 'rarely' and 'always'. Which is correct from the below sentences? All of them? (Until know I've thought that just the first is OK.) |
I rarely go swimming. Correct.
Rarely I go swimming. Should be: Rarely do I go swimming. "Rarely", like many negative-sounding adverbs, requires subject-auxiliary inversion if it's put at the beginning of the sentence.
I go swimming rarely. Unusual.
I go swimming very rarely. Completely normal.
I always do my homework in the evening. Correct.
Always I do my homework in the evening. Wrong.
I do my homework in the evening always. Odd, but some other poetic-sounding sentences can have "always" at the end, such as, "I'll love her always," or, "He remembered her always."
Since dictionaries don't list the correct position of each adverb, and there doesn't seem to be any practice book for adverbs (as there is for prepositions, articles, etc.), I guess all you can do is learn then on an individual basis, unless someone has some better idea. |
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 4337 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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Sun Jan 13, 2008 15:44 pm position of 'very often' in a sentence |
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Sorry, Amy. I repeated some of what you said. I hadn't seen your post before I put up mine.  |
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 4337 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| What do you have to pay? What does this mean? | calmer or more calm |