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Adverbs for Manner

Compare the positioning of adverbs

In Context

A twenty-something young man is kneeling silently in front of a small office safe. He is intentionally silent because the office manager is working quietly at his desk in a nearby office.

Carefully, the young man moves the dial to the right until it makes a tick-tick sound. He listens closely to the dial. He is extremely focused. Skillfully, he spins the dial to the right, to the left, and to the right again. He carefully listens for the tumblers in the lock to fall into position. The tumblers line-up with a sound that is barely audible. Gently, he pulls on the door handle until the door opens.

The young man suddenly sees the office manager standing in the doorway. The office manage is clearly delighted. The office manager had locked the combination accidentally inside the safe.

Fortunately, the young locksmith has opened the safe without damaging it. The office manager's mistake is truly embarrassing, Luckily, the locksmith has saved the office manager from embarrassment. Gratefully, the office manager pays the young man, and he thanks him.

Adverb Placement

BEFORE OR AFTER THE VERB	BEFORE AN ADJECTIVE	BEFORE A CLAUSE
An -ly adverb before or after the verb (or verb + object) expresses how the action or activity was performed, the manner.	An -ly adverb before an adjective may modify its quality or character (manner), or [1] modify its intensity, express "how much" (degree¹).	An -ly adverb placed before a clause may modify the action (manner), or it may express opinion or attitude about the situation (stance²).
The young man is kneeling silently.	He is intentionally quiet.	Carefully, the young man moves the dial to the right until it makes a tick-tick sound.
He listens closely to the dial.	He is extremely¹ focused.	Skillfully, he spins the dial to the left and to the right.
He carefully listens to the tumblers inside the lock.	The sound that is barely¹ audible.	Gently, he pulls on the door handle until the door opens.
He suddenly sees the office manager standing in the doorway.	The manager is clearly delighted.	Fortunately², the locksmith has opened the safe without damaging it.
The manager had locked the combination accidentally inside the safe. Place the adverb after the object if there is one.	His mistake is truly embarrassing.	Luckily², the locksmith has saved the office manager from embarrassment. Gratefully, the office manager pays the young man.

*not used / ~borderline usage or requiring special context

alert (Adj) – aware, cautious, watchful

audible (Adj) – capable of being heard

dial (N) – the round mechanism that someone turns to enter numbers. (Now, a keypad is usually used.)

grateful (Adj) – appreciative, thankful

intentionally (Adv) – in a way that is on purpose, willful, or deliberate (with intent)

locksmith (N) – a person who makes or repairs keys, or locks

safe (N) – a strong metal box where valuable things such as money and jewelry can be locked away.

skillful (Adj) – having the ability or knowledge, coming from practice, to do something well; aptitude

tumblers (N) – the parts inside the lock that keep the pin in place, that is, keep the lock or opened or closed

twenty-something (expression) – somewhere in between 20 and 29.

¹ Degree Adverbs – express intensity or "how much" (e.g., especially, barely, greatly, fully, relatively, slightly). See Adverbs for Degree.

² Stance Adverbs – express attitude or opinion about the situation in the clause (rather than modifying the action [verb] in the clause). Compare meanings:

→ Manner Gently, he pulled the door open. He gently pulled the door open. (Expresses how the action was performed.)

→ Stance: Fortunately, he opened the safe. *He fortunately opened the safe. (Expresses opinion about the situation in the clause.) "It is a fortunate situation that he opened it". See Evaluation Adverbs.

Adverb Placement

Modifying a Verb

Manner Adverb Placement — Modifying a Verb

BEFORE A VERB	BETWEEN AN AUXILIARY AND MAIN VERB	AFTER A VERB + OBJECT
An adverb for manner is commonly placed before the main verb. This 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.	He did not open the safe.	He opened the safe .

Three Positions for Placement

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 a transitive verb.	An adverb for manner commonly occurs between an auxiliary verb and the main verb.	An adverb for manner may also be placed after the verb (and after the object if there is one.)
TRANSITIVE VERBS
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 cautiously laid his tools on the floor.	He was cautiously laying his tools on the floor.	He laid his tools on the floor cautiously.
He slowly raised his head to listen to the dial turning.	He would slowly raise his head to listen. (repeatedly)	He raised his head slowly to listen to the dial turning.
INTRANSITIVE VERBS
*He closely listened. (intrans. vs. – sounds awkward)	*He doesn't closely listen. (intran. vs. – sounds awkward)	He listened closely.
*He softly spoke. (intrans. vs. – sounds awkward)	*He should softly speak. (intran. vs. – sounds awkward)	He spoke softly.
~He quietly lay under the counter. (past tense)	He was quietly lying under the counter. ~He could quietly lie under the counter until everyone left. (planning options)	He lay quietly under the counter. He was lying quietly under the counter.
He carefully rose to check the front door.	He was carefully rising to check the front door. ~He didn't carefully rise to check the front door.	He rose carefully to check the front door. He didn't rise carefully to check the front door.
He quickly walked away. (intrans. vs. – sounds OK)	He would quickly walk away.	He walked away quickly.

* incorrect usage / ~ borderline usage, requires a special context

Intransitive Verb – Never Passive (intrans. v.) – a verb without an object complement; He lay down. His voice rose.

transitive verb (trans. v.) – a verb with an object complement; He laid his keys down. He raised his voice.

Manner Adverb Placement—Exceptions

MEDIAL 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 .)
* The wind was hard blowing over the crowd.
*The emotion was fast rising inside the hearts of the people.
*All agreed that the event had well gone.
*The organizers were late called.
*President Obama was early starting work.

FINAL POSITION
Some irregular adverbs without -ly forms can only occur after the verb phrase.
The wind was blowing hard over the crowd.
The emotion was rising fast inside the hearts of the people.
All agreed that the event had gone well.
The organizers were called late.
President Obama was starting work early. (end of sentence)

light Pop-Q "right over"

Adverb Placement

Modifying an Adjective

Manner Adverb Placement — Modifying an Adjective

BEFORE AN ADJECTIVE
An adverb for manner can also modify an adjective – the quality or character of someone/thing.
He was purposefully silent.
He is extraordinarily good at safe-cracking.
He was regretfully wrong in his decision.
They were remarkably quick to respond.

BEFORE A PARTICIPIAL ADJECTIVE
An adverb for manner can modify an adjective formed from a passive verb, ending in -ed. (Part Adj)
He was sadly mistaken.
The safe was badly damaged. (participial adj.)
The burglar was clearly experienced.
The office manager was easily distracted.

purposefully silent – silent on purpose

sadly mistaken (expression) – an idea based on a wrong understanding

safe-cracking (N) – opening a safe without the key or combination

Adverb Placement

Initial vs. mid-clause

Adverbs of Manner—initial vs. mid-placement

INITIAL PLACEMENT
A manner adverb may be placed at the beginning of a clause, separated by a comma. This shifts the focus to (the meaning expressed by) the adverb and sets the scene for the action or situation in the clause that follows. This adverb modifies the verb phrase of the clause.
Quietly, he turned the dial on the safe. means the same →
Silently, the police surrounded the bank. means the same →

INITIAL PLACEMENT

A manner adverb may be placed at the beginning of a clause, separated by a comma. This shifts the focus to (the meaning expressed by) the adverb and sets the scene for the action or situation in the clause that follows. This adverb modifies the verb phrase of the clause.

modifies clause to right
Quietly, he turned the dial on the safe. means the same →

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

NORMAL PLACEMENT
An manner adverb is more commonly placed before the verb (but after the auxiliary) or after the direct object. Placement toward the beginning of the clause adds emphasis to the meaning expressed by the adverb.
*Quietly he turned the dial on the safe. (without a comma) He quietly turned the dial on the safe. He was quietly turning the dial on the safe. He turned the dial quietly on the safe.
*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

NORMAL PLACEMENT

An manner adverb is more commonly placed before the verb (but after the auxiliary) or after the direct object. Placement toward the beginning of the clause adds emphasis to the meaning expressed by the adverb.

*Quietly he turned the dial on the safe. (without a comma)

He quietly turned the dial on the safe.

He was quietly turning the dial on the safe.

He turned the dial quietly on the safe.

*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

Adverbs of Manner

Modify actions (dynamic verbs)

Meanings expressed—dynamic verbs vs. static verbs

DYNAMIC VERB
An adverb modifies the action expressed by a dynamic verb (action verb). However, some dynamic verbs have a similar static verb form which cannot be modified by an adverb. Compare the meaning of the examples below.
Alberto is quietly looking at you. (to see with eyes focused)*
Alberto Benigni possibly is appearing on stage tonight. (is performing)
Alberto is rapidly becoming a good technician. (is working to become, self-actualizing)
Robert DeNiro is proudly acting in this movie. (is performing)
You are slowly getting better each day. (are improving in health or are taking action to improve health)

STATIC VERB
An adverb is not used with a static verb, also called a "state of being", because there is no action to modify. A static verb expresses how we passively and experience the world around us (See Static Verbs.)
Alberto looks tired.(Alberto = tired.)
Alberto appears pleased. (Alberto = pleased.)
Alberto becomes excited. (Alberto = excited.)
Alberto acts strange. (Alberto behaves strangely.)
BUT: Alberto gets¹ angry easily. (Alberto becomes angry.)

¹Get is sometimes static or dynamic. It is changing in language use. (informal) See Get Passive.

Common Mistakes

Errors and Solutions

Error and Solution

ERROR
*We opened quietly the door. adverb placement error
*He moves quickly the ball toward the goal. adverb placement error
*He strangely was very unhappy even though he was wealthy. A n adverb cannot modify a BE verb. (stative verb). Pop-Q – "strangely"
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

ERROR

*We opened quietly the door. adverb placement error

*He moves quickly the ball toward the goal. adverb placement error

*He strangely was very unhappy even though he was wealthy.
A n adverb cannot modify a BE verb. (stative verb).

Solution - lightbulb Pop-Q – "strangely"

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

SOLUTION
We opened the door quietly . Place the adverb after the verb and object that it modifies.
He moves the ball quickly toward the goal. Place the adverb after the verb and object that it modifies.
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 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.)
(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 to modify. In this sentence, moving the adverb does not really change the meaning.