[Grammar] rule about "even" placed before verbs for emphasis? ("even can't")

[AnnM]

rule about "even" placed before verbs for emphasis? ("even can't")

in English we say “can’t even” but not“even can’t.” “I will even” is OK; “Ieven will” is not.
However, in some cases “even” can beplaced before verbs for emphasis:

• ​Julia even considered herself agourmet chef.
• Sometimes I even worry that I am losing my memory.

What is the rule? Does someone have a resource that explains how toteach this? I found this a helpful overview of the different usesof “even” and accompanying rules: http://www.englishpage.com/minitutorials/even.html but even (!) this does not address the “even can’t”.

 

[TheParser]

Re: rule about "even" placed before verbs for emphasis? ("even can't")

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Ann:

I cannot answer your excellent questions, but I can share some information that I found in the "books" section of Google.

1. "The adverbs of addition (also, even) ... take the pre-order [in front of the verb], because they would else be referred to a wrong word."

Thus, "I even went a step beyond Whiston."

(My note: I guess that the author means that if "even" were not before the verb, then a listener would mistakely think that it was emphazing another word or phrase in that sentence. Which word or phrase? Of course, your humble servant does not have the confidence to express an opinion.)

-- August Western, On Sentence-rhythm and Word-order (1908).

2. "Aga can even speak French." = in addition to every else she can do.

"Even Aga can speak French." = you might not expect her to.

The book says NOT: "Aga even can speak French."

-- Martin Hewings, Advanced Grammar in Use (2013).