Does adverb come before the verb or after the verb?
The seamstress quickly made the mourning clothes. – “here quickly is before the verb”
The midwives waited patiently through a long labour. – “Here patiently is after the verb”
What is the grammar rule on this?
NOT A TEACHER
(1) What a great question!!!
(2) The first poster gave us a fantastic variety of links to explore, didn't he!!!
(3) Just to share with you what at least a few teachers feel:
(a) Quickly, the seamtress made the mourning clothes.
(b) The seamstress quickly made the mourning clothes.
(c) The seamstress made the mourning clothes quickly.
(4) Many teachers and books say that (a), (b), and (c) mean the
same. Those "few" teachers I mentioned earlier say that (a) and
(b) mean the same but that (c) may more clearly show the importance
of the word "quickly" to the meaning of your sentence. In other
words (if I understand it correctly), the adverb in (a) and (b) are
modifiers. But the adverb in (c) is almost a complement -- that is,
it "completes" the meaning of what you are wishing to express. Maybe
if you deleted (erased) "quickly" in (a) and (b), it would not make
a big difference, but if you deleted "quickly" in (c), the sentence
would not "completely" give the meaning that you want it to.
(5) This theory is described in
Making Sense of Grammar by Mr. John
Clark Jordan (New York: Teachers College Press, 1980, pp. 19 - 20).
Respectfully yours,
James
