Adverbs for Manner: placement

A burglar is opening a safe.

Adverbs for Manner

Placement (usual word order)

Adverbs for Manner – Placement

MODIFYING A VERB	MODIFYING AN ADJECTIVE	MODIFYING A CLAUSE
An adverb for manner is usually placed after the verb. It tells us how the action or activity was performed.	An adverb for manner is placed before an adjective. It modifies the quality or character of the adjective.	An adverb for manner can be placed before a sentence with a comma. It expresses the attitude of the writer or speaker regarding the clause it introduces. (See Adv for Evaluation .)
He moved silently.	He was purposefully silent.	Quietly, he turned the dial on the safe.
He listened closely.	He was sadly mistaken. *	Silently, the police surrounded the bank.
He spoke softly.	He was regretfully wrong.	Illegally, he broke into the safe and took the money.
He worked quickly.	He is extraordinarily good at safe-cracking.	Fortunately, he was acting the scene for a movie.

safe (n.) – a strong metal box where valuable things such as money and jewelry can be locked away.
dial (n.) – the round mechanism that one turns to enter numbers. (Now, a keypad is usually used.)
*sadly mistaken (expression) – an idea based on an incorrect understanding
safe-cracking (n.) – to open a safe illegally and steal the things inside it.

Adverb Placement

Modifying a Verb

Manner Adverb Placement — Modifying Verbs

BEFORE THE VERB	BETWEEN THE AUXILIARY AND MAIN VERB	AFTER THE VERB
For emphasis, an adverb for manner can be placed before a verb if the verb is an intransitive verb (a verb that has an object.)	An adverb for manner commonly occurs between an auxiliary verb and the main verb. (auxiliary verb: do, does, has, have, will, can, may, might, must, should, etc.)	An adverb for manner may also be placed after the verb (and after the object if there is one.)
He silently turned the dial.	He will silently turn the dial.	He turned the dial silently.
He continuously watched the front door.	He was continuously watching the front door.	He watched the front door continuously.
*He closely listened. (intrans. v. – sounds awkward)	*He doesn't closely listen. (intran. v. – sounds awkward)	He listened closely.
*He softly spoke. (intrans. v. – sounds awkward)	*He should softly speak. (intran. v. – sounds awkward)	He spoke softly.
He quickly walked away. (intrans. v. –sounds okay)	He would quickly walk away.	He walked away quickly.

*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.
awkward sounding (adj) – unpleasant to hear; not preferred phrasing for native speakers
intransitive verb (intrans. v.) – a verb that is not followed by an object: "I rise.", "I lie down."
transitive verb (trans. v.) – a verb that is followed by an object: "I raised the flag." "I laid the baby down."

Three Positions for Placement

BEFORE A VERB	BETWEEN AN AUXILIARY AND MAIN VERB	AFTER A VERB + OBJECT
An adverb for manner is commonly placed before the main verb. The placement can also be used for emphasis.	When an auxiliary verb is present, the adverb for manner is placed after the auxiliary and before the main verb.	An adverb is placed after the verb and its object or object phrase when no particular emphasis on it is desired.
He unlocked the safe. (security box)	He did not open the safe.	He opened the safe .

Adverb for Manner Placement – Exceptions

MEDIAL POSITION	FINAL POSITION
Adverbs with no -ly forms – hard, fast, good, late, well – are not placed between the auxiliary and main verb. (Note that early and daily are irregular because they .)	Some irregular adverbs without -ly forms can only occur after the verb phrase.
* The wind was hard blowing over the crowd.	The wind was blowing hard over the crowd.
*The emotion was fast rising inside the hearts of the people.	The emotion was rising fast inside the hearts of the people.
*All agreed that the event had well gone.	All agreed that the event had gone well.
*The organizers were late called.	The organizers were called late.
*President Obama was early starting work.	President Obama was starting work early. (end of sentence)

Related page: "right over"

Common Mistakes

ERROR	FIX
*We opened quietly the door. adverb placement error	We opened the door quietly . The adverb is placed after the verb and object that it modifies.
*He moves quickly the ball toward the goal. adverb placement error	He moves the ball quickly toward the goal. Place adverb after the object! The adverb is placed after the verb and object that it modifies.
*He strangely was very unhappy even though he was wealthy. A n adverb cannot modify a BE verb. (stative verb). Pop-Q – "strangely"	It is strange that he was so unhappy even though he was wealthy. Use a modifying clause in place of the adverb. (Substitute so for very.) Strangely, he was very unhappy even though he was wealthy. Use strangely to introduce and modify the the entire sentence. (See clause adverb.) He was strangely unhappy even though he was very wealthy Use the adverb to modify the adjective. (A slight change in meaning results.)
Air traffic continues to steadily return to normal across Europe. Not incorrect, but it is unclear whether steadily modifies the verb continues or the infinitive to return, or the verb phrase continues to return. Related page: The Split Infinitive Debate	(1) Air traffic steadily continues to return to normal across Europe. (2) Air traffic continues steadily to return to normal across Europe. (3) Air traffic continues to return steadily to normal across Europe. Move the adverb directly before or after the word you wish it to modify. In this sentence, moving the adverb does not really change the meaning.

Adverb Placement

Modifying an Adjective

Manner Adverb Placement — Modifying Adjectives

BEFORE AN ADJECTIVE	BEFORE A PARTICIPIAL ADJECTIVE
An adverb for manner can also modify an adjective – the quality or character of someone/thing.	An adverb for manner can modify an adjective formed from a passive verb, ending in -ed. (Part Adj)
He was purposefully silent. (silent on purpose)	He was sadly mistaken. (expression) – an idea based on a wrong understanding
He is extraordinarily good at safe-cracking.	The safe was badly damaged. (participial adj.)
He was regretfully wrong.	The burglar was clearly experienced.
He was remarkably quick.	The actor was skillfully prepared.

Manner Adverb

Initial Placement

Initially placed manner adverb

INITIALLY PLACED ADVERB SET OFF BY A COMMA	NORMAL PLACEMENT
We place a manner adverb at the beginning (separated by a comma) in speech and writing to create a pause. The focus shifts to the adverb creating emphasis or 'setting the scene'. The adjunct modifies the verb phrase of the clause.	We normally place a manner adverb before the verb or after the direct object. Placing an adverb before the subject is not done.
Quietly, he turned the dial on the safe. means the same →	*Quietly he turned the dial on the safe. not done He turned the dial quietly on the safe. after object of the verb He quietly turned the dial on the safe. before the verb
Silently, the police surrounded the bank. means the same →	*Silently the police surrounded the bank. not done The police surrounded the bank silently. after object of the verb The police silently surrounded the bank . before the verb

INITIALLY PLACED ADVERB SET OFF BY A COMMA

NORMAL PLACEMENT

We place a manner adverb at the beginning (separated by a comma) in speech and writing to create a pause. The focus shifts to the adverb creating emphasis or 'setting the scene'. The adjunct modifies the verb phrase of the clause.

We normally place a manner adverb before the verb or after the direct object. Placing an adverb before the subject is not done.

Quietly, he turned the dial on the safe. means the same →

*Quietly he turned the dial on the safe. not done

He turned the dial quietly on the safe. after object of the verb

He quietly turned the dial on the safe. before the verb

Silently, the police surrounded the bank. means the same →

*Silently the police surrounded the bank. not done

The police surrounded the bank silently. after object of the verb

The police silently surrounded the bank . before the verb

MOVED: Also see Adv for Evaluation (Evaluation Adverbs and Speech-act Related Adverbs)

Practice

Using Adverbs in Sentences

Select the word order that best completes the sentence.
Then click the button on the right to check your answer.

#	YOUR RESPONSE	CHECK ANSWER
1.	My dog when I come home.
2.	My dog at the front door.
3.	The baby across the floor.
4.	The baby his mother.
5.	The fisherman
6.	The fisherman
7.	A fortune teller into his crystal ball.
8.	A genie in his crystal ball.
9.	The Fed Ex man to our business.
10.	The Fed Ex man as he walked down the sidewalk.
11.	John to complete his homework.
12.	John until 2 a.m.
13.	The disk jockey .
14.	A dancing toucan .
15.	The actress .
16.	My cousin . Related page: separable phrasal verbs