placing

[azz]

Could one say:

a. I decided to leave on the second of February.
instead of:
b. On the second of February I decided to leave.

Could one say:
c. I was told that the exam had already taken place on the second of February.
instead of:
d. On the second of February I was told that the exam had already taken place.

 

[emsr2d2]

Could one say:

a. I decided to leave on the second of February.
This can have two meanings:
1) You were thinking about leaving and finally, on 2nd Feb, you decided to leave, at some point in the future.
2) You decided to leave (the decision was made at some point in the past) and the decision you made was that you would leave on 2nd Feb.
instead of:
b. On the second of February I decided to leave.
This only has one meaning - On 2nd Feb, you made a decision. That decision was to leave.

Could one say:
c. I was told that the exam had already taken place on the second of February.
I would say that this means that you were told, on an unspecified date, that the exam had already taken place and that it took place on 2nd Feb.
instead of:
d. On the second of February I was told that the exam had already taken place.
This means that you were told on 2nd Feb, that the exam had already taken place on an unspecifed date in the past.

For clarity, with the first example, you could say either:

I decided, on 2nd February, to leave.
I decided to leave, and I'll leave on 2nd February.

With the second example:

I was told that the exam had already taken place, on 2nd February.
I was told, on 2nd February, that the exam had already taken place.