Many people have a vague understanding! Word order of adverbs

Where to place adverbs in a sentence is a niche topic, but it is something many people get wrong. It is often thought that "adverbs can be placed anywhere," but in reality, there are clear rules and NG patterns that you must never use.

In this article, we will focus on points that frequently appear on exams and clearly organize the word order of adverbs!

Basics: The "three fixed positions" determined by the type of verb

When an adverb modifies a verb, there are three basic positions:

1. For general verbs: "After the subject (before the verb)" or "at the end of the sentence"

In sentences with general verbs, the basic rule is to place the adverb before the verb.

I usually watch movies on TV.

However, adverbs that express the "manner" or "method" of an action can also be placed at the end of the sentence.

Tom speaks English fluently.

Conversely, adverbs that do not express "manner" or "method" cannot be placed at the end of the sentence. Words like just, only, rather, even, quite, and once (meaning "formerly") cannot be placed at the end of a sentence, so keep that in mind. (There is no regularity to this, so you just have to memorize them...)

2. For Be verbs: "After the Be verb"

In sentences with a Be verb, place the adverb immediately after the Be verb. Placing it before the Be verb is incorrect.

We were completely satisfied with the result. The town was
completely destroyed.

There are many mistakes where people place 'completely' before 'was', so be careful.

3. For perfect tenses (have + past participle): "After have" is the ironclad rule

In sentences in the perfect tense, regardless of whether the verb is intransitive or transitive, the most reliable principle is to place it between have (has/had) and the past participle (p.p.). Adverbs of "frequency/time" fit into this position.

I have just finished lunch. The town has
rapidly developed. The animal has
long been a symbol of the country.

The ironclad rule of "transitive verb + object"

This is one of the rules that frequently appears on tests.

❌ NG: The nap gives quickly energy.
⭕️ Correct: The nap gives energy quickly.

There is a golden rule that says, "You must not place an adverb between a transitive verb and its object (noun)." Adverbs must either be moved to the end of the sentence or changed into an adjective (quick) to modify the noun.

💡 Exceptional cases where they are placed in between

However, there are two exceptional cases where it appears that an adverb is placed "between a transitive verb and its object."

When the adverb modifies the "following adjective"

He presented a [completely new] style. (He presented a completely new style.)
* This 'completely' is not modifying the verb, but the adjective 'new' immediately following it, so this position is correct.

When the object is long due to a relative pronoun, etc.

I watched carefully the man who was walking on the street.
* If the object is too long, placing the adverb at the end of the sentence makes it unclear what it is modifying, so it is exceptionally placed immediately after the verb.

When using 'exactly' to modify an interrogative

I don’t know exactly when to go.
As in this sentence, only when the object is an interrogative and 'exactly' is used to modify that interrogative, can 'exactly' be placed before the interrogative (i.e., between the transitive verb and the object). By the way, since 'exactly' is the only adverb that can modify an interrogative, you don't need to worry about other adverbs. This might sound like a very specific point, but it is worth knowing.

Word order for placing adverbs at the beginning of a sentence

If you want to place an adverb at the beginning of a sentence, be aware that the adverbs that can be placed there are limited.
Almost all boys swim 2 miles.

'Almost' and 'Generally' can be used at the beginning of a sentence. There are many other adverbs that can be used at the beginning of a sentence, and you have no choice but to look them up yourself and increase your vocabulary.

The trap of "modifying the nearby verb" (sentences with two verbs)

When two verbs are used in one sentence, the rule is that the adverb modifies the nearby verb.

I think that sounds a bit vague, so here is a concrete example.

Tom decided to take the trip finally.
The translation of this sentence is "Tom finally decided to take the trip." In other words, 'finally' modifies 'decide'. However, in this sentence, it looks like 'finally' is modifying 'take', which is different from the intended meaning, so it is incorrect.

Correctly, it is:
Tom finally decided to take the trip.
becomes.

Rules for the words themselves: Adverbs that cannot be placed at the "end of a sentence"

Some adverbs, by their nature, must never be placed alone at the "end of a sentence." These have a strict rule that they must be "placed immediately before the word they modify."

• Adverbs that cannot be at the end of a sentence: just, only, even, very, quite, rather

These cannot be placed at the end of a sentence on their own. You must either pair them with another word, such as in "just now," or place them immediately before the word they modify.

★ A special adverb that frequently appears on tests: once

The word "once" is also important for the TOEIC because its meaning changes depending on where it is placed.

When placed at the end of a sentence ⇒ "one time, once" (frequency)

　I saw him once. (I met him one time.)

When placed before a verb ⇒ "formerly, in the past" (past fact)

　I once saw him. (I formerly met him.)

As shown here, you may be asked to distinguish the meaning based on the position, so be sure to learn them as a set.

Priority when two adverbs are used together

Tornadoes almost never occur in Japan.
In this sentence, both "almost" and "never" are adverbs.

Now, here is a question:
Tornadoes never almost occur in Japan.
Is this possible?

Many people feel intuitively that this is wrong, but few can explain why. When adverbs overlap in a single sentence, English has an intuitive priority. In particular, almost and always have a strong priority to be placed before other adverbs.

• ⭕️ Tornadoes almost never occur in Japan. (Tornadoes rarely occur in Japan.)

• ❌ Tornadoes never almost occur in Japan.

Also, adverbs of degree such as "very" and "quite" have the property that they cannot be placed directly next to other adverbs (such as "never" or "sometimes").
<Adverbs that cannot be placed together>
very, quite, rather, even, relatively
Remember this as well.

Place adverbs after nouns

Do you know what "place adverbs" are? When asked casually, these "place adverbs" that don't immediately come to mind include the following.

💡 Main "place adverbs"
here, there, home, abroad / overseas, inside, outside, upstairs, downstairs, below, above

These words have a powerful rule: they can be placed immediately after a noun (post-modification) to directly modify that noun.

• ⭕️ The boy here is hungry. (The boy who is here is hungry)

• ❌ The here boy is hungry.

Because we are accustomed to placing adjectives (like beautiful) before nouns, we tend to want to say "the abroad branch," but this is incorrect. The correct way is to modify it from behind as the branch abroad.

On tests, you might see questions like "The branch [blank] opens at 9 a.m." where you have to choose between "abroad" or "here" for the blank right after the subject. The trick is not to get confused by thinking, "Can't I put an adverb there because it's before the be-verb?" but to recognize that it is a place adverb modifying the noun from behind.

Meaning changes with position! Adverbs of frequency and number of times

Adverbs that express "number of times" or "frequency" often appear on tests because their role and meaning change drastically depending on where they are placed.

1. The rule is to place them at the "end of the sentence" (once, twice, three times...)

Phrases that express a specific "number of times" are in principle placed at the end of the sentence.

I saw him once. (I met him one time) We review the budget
three times a year. (We review the budget three times a year.)

2. [Super Important] The meaning of "once" changes with its position!

What is especially targeted on tests is the distinction in how to use "once." Look at the following two sentences:
1. I saw him once.
2. I once saw him.

Which of these two sentences is correct? The conclusion is that both are grammatically correct. However, sentence 1 and sentence 2 have different meanings.
1 means "I saw him one time."
2 means "I once saw him (in the past)."

The word "once" has three meanings: "one time," "formerly/in the past," and "as soon as." Among these, you only need to place it at the end of the sentence when it means "one time" to express frequency. Since 2 means "formerly," it does not need to be at the end of the sentence.

If at the end of the sentence ⇒ "one time, once (frequency)"
I saw him once. (I met him one time.)

When placed before a verb ⇒ "formerly, in the past (past fact)"
I once saw him. (formerly I met him)
This building once belonged to our company. (This building formerly belonged to our company)

💡 'once' also has the meaning of "as soon as / once (conjunction)," but when used as an adverb meaning "formerly," it must always be placed before the verb (after the Be verb, between the perfect tense). Just by knowing the rule for this position, there are many problems you can solve in an instant.

'once' is a special word whose meaning changes depending on where it is placed, and it appears frequently on tests, so let's master the different uses of 'once'.

③ Exception rules for "sometimes" and "often"

Among adverbs of frequency, 'sometimes' and 'often' behave a little differently.

Basically, like other frequency adverbs (always, usually, etc.), it is most standard to place them "before a general verb / after a Be verb."

We often text each other. (We often send messages to each other) He is
sometimes late for meetings. (He is sometimes late for meetings)

However, sometimes has the exceptional versatility of being able to be placed freely at the "beginning" or "end" of a sentence.

Sometimes I work from home. / I work from home sometimes. (I sometimes work from home)

On the other hand, placing 'often' at the end of a sentence is generally done when it is paired with words that emphasize the degree, such as 'very often' or 'quite often.' Remember that it is rarely placed alone at the end of a sentence.

Summary: Key points for adverbs

So far, we have looked at the "adverb placement rules" which are niche but definitely make a difference in exams. Since this was a lot of content, let's review it with the "3 ironclad rules" to hammer these into your head.

📌 Ironclad Rule 1: Check the fixed position by verb type

Identify the correct position of the adverb from the verb type.

General verb ⇒ "Before" the verb is basic.
Be verb ⇒ "After" the Be verb is absolute.
Perfect tense ⇒ "Between" have/has/had and the past participle (p.p.) is the ironclad rule.

📌 Ironclad Rule 2: Do not tear apart "transitive verb + object"

If it is in the form of "transitive verb + [blank] + noun (object)," an adverb will never go there. The correct answer is to insert an "adjective" that modifies the noun. If you want to insert an adverb, the ironclad rule is to move it to the end of the object (the end of the sentence).

📌 Ironclad Rule 3: Special rules for "place" and "frequency" that require caution

Adverbs of place (abroad, here, etc.) ⇒ Modify from "immediately after the noun."
once ⇒ "Once" if at the end of the sentence, "formerly" if before the verb.

💡 Conclusion: The effect of turning a vague feeling into solid logic
By discarding the assumption that "adverbs can be placed anywhere" and simply being conscious of these placement rules, your test accuracy and speed will improve dramatically, so please be sure to master them.