Position of Adverbs – Free Exercise

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Exercises

Is the adverb in the right or wrong location? (For wrong sentences, you can see the correction by clicking on the speech bubble after solving the exercises.)

  1. I saw him yesterday.Adverbs of time normally come at the end or the beginning of a sentence.
  2. The teacher speaks slowly.Adverbs of manner come after the full verb (if there is no object).
  3. We go never swimming.Adverbs of frequency come directly before the full verb.|We never go swimming.
  4. You cannot go there.Adverbs of place come after the full verb (if there is no direct object).
  5. They inside are waiting.Adverbs of place come after the full verb (if there is no direct object).|They are waiting inside.
  6. I didn’t then have time.Adverbs of time normally come at the end or the beginning of a sentence.
  7. The children don’t come usually home from school before five pm.Adverbs of frequency come before the full verb.|The children don’t usually come home from school before five pm.
  8. The dog quickly ran to the gate.Adverbs of manner can be placed in front of the verb if there is additional information that is being more strongly emphasised than the adverb.|another possibility would be: The dog ran quickly to the gate.
  9. We often think about you.Adverbs of frequency come directly before the full verb.
  10. She drank hastily the water.Adverbs of manner are never placed between the full verb and the object, but rather come after the object (if they are being emphasised) or before the full verb (if they’re not being emphasised).|She drank the water hastily. or She hastily drank the water.

Re-write the sentences, adding the adverb in the correct location.

  1. She is at home. (rarely)
    →  Adverbs of frequency usually come before the verb, but if the full verb is a form of be, then they come after it.
  2. He opened the door. (quietly)
    → Adverbs of manner usually come after the object. (In this case we are emphasising how the door was opened.)|If, however, the object should be emphasised, then the adverb can be placed before the full verb. (In this case we are emphasising what was quietly opened.)
  3. Can I sit down? (here)
    → Adverbs of place come after the verb; here, the preposition is a part of the verb (phrasal verb)
  4. The students listened (attentively)
    → If there is no object in the sentence, the adverb of manner comes after the verb.
  5. We live in Glasgow (now).
    → Adverbs of time can be placed at the end or the beginning of a sentence.