POSITION OF ADVERBS

 

A
S
A
P O
A
         
In spring Frank often gives parties at his house.
There we always play games.  
  Jackie usually gets prizes at parties.
  I never win one.  
  We sometimes sing songs at school.
         
Adverbs of
time and place
 
How often?
 
Adverbs of manner, place and time
         
Mind: Never put an adverb between P and O!

 

Adverbs of Manner / Place
 
They are usually placed after the direct object (if there is one), otherwise after the verb.
 
He speaks English well. They walked quickly.
She painted the picture here. I looked everywhere.
 
Adverbs of Time  
 
 These adverbs are normally placed at the end of a clause or sentence.
 
The boys said, “I will do the work tomorrow”.
The father said, “ You will do it now”.
 
In long sentences, however, adverbs of time are placed at the beginning of the sentence.
At three in the morning I heard a loud knock on the front door.

If we want to emphasize when, how or where an action is done, the adverb can be placed at the beginning of the sentence.

 
Tomorrow we will go to London.
Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.
 
If there are several adverbs in a sentence the usual order in which they follow the verb is:

 

Manner (how?)
Place (where?)
Time (when?)
She worked
very hard
at school
last week
M
P
T

 

Adverbs of Frequency   
 

They are placed after the simples tenses of to be:
He is always in time for meals.

 
They are placed before the simple tenses of all other verbs:
Tom often goes to work by car.
 
With tenses consisting of more than one verb, they are placed after the first one:
Your car has probably been stolen.