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Originally Posted by Casiopea I'm starting my holidays today, so, yes, I won't be around for a while to finish this discussion. Sorry.
Looks good, though.
Note, why are some forms (e.g., placement of 'sometimes') deemed acceptable and yet others deemed unacceptable (i.e., if she would have)? I don't get it. What's the criteria? |
I don't know, but adverbs are one thing and conditionals are another. It has to do with flexibility. Adverbs aren't major structures. Condtional clauses are major structures. There's only so much they can be moved around. Adverbs, on the other hand, are more supportive. They support other structures such as the present perfect and conditional clauses. They provide extra meaning and color, which is very important. I suppose adverbs aren't as foundational as the structures they accompany. The foundation and the main structure remain the same, but many forms of ornamentation are more flexible - to a degree. Adjectives are simple, and, I think, therefore, a lot less flexible than adverbs. Adverbs can wander, especially in conversation, that is to say spontaneous speech. Adjectives stick to their nouns like barnacles.
1.
They 2.
took 3.
long walks along the beach.
1.
They often 2.
took 3.
long walks along the beach early in the morning.
Oftentimes, 1.
they 2. would take 3.
long walks along the beach early in the morning.
Early in the morning, 1.
they 2.
would often
take 3.
long walks along the beach.
1.
They 2.
would very often
take 3.
long walks along the beach early in the morning.
Very often 1.
they 2.
would take 3.
long walks along the beach early in the morning.
With adverbs, I don't think "either it's right or wrong" type rules can be applied as often as they can in other parts of grammar.
One might think of placing "long walks" at the beginning, but I wouldn't.