where they go in a sentence

 

Where do adverbials go in a sentence?

We normally put adverbials after the verb:

He spoke angrily.
They live just here.
We will go in a few minutes.

or after the object or complement:

He opened the door quietly.
She left the money on the table.
We saw our friends last night.
You are looking tired tonight.

But adverbials of frequency (how often) usually come in front of the main verb:

We usually spent our holidays with our grandparents.
I have never seen William at work.

But if we want to emphasise an adverbial we can put it at the beginning of a clause:

Last night we saw our friends.
In a few minutes we will go.
Very quietly he opened the door.

If we want to emphasise an adverb of manner we can put it in front of the main verb:

He quietly opened the door.
She had carefully put the glass on the shelf.

 Exercise

Comments

Yusri's picture

Hello Learn English Team, 
I have a remark, please. In the first question (1/8), we have the following sentence:
"At ten o'clock tonight I'll be in Berlin".
It consists of: - a prepositional phrase ( at ten o'clock tonight) which represents an adverbials for time. 
                     - then, we have the sentence's core ( subj+verb = I'll be)
                    - finally, we have a second prepositional phrase. This time, it is for place (in Berlin). 
Right? Ok. 
My question is: 
Don't you think that we miss a possible correct answer for this question which is the second one (b- After the verb)?
Thank you very much. 
Kind regards.
Yosri
 

Rickerik's picture

Hello. hello,
I just would like to ask if the sentece above it's correct or not.
''He spoke angrily.'' and why not ''He spokes angrily.''
Than you for the answer in advence.

Jeremy Bee's picture
LearnEnglish
team

Hello Rickerik!
 
"He spoke angrily" is correct because the sentence is in the past tense. We only add s for he, she, or it in the present tense.

Hope that helps!
 
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team

foxy5000's picture

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Ratnani.Dipak's picture

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am1go's picture

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Jeremy Bee's picture
LearnEnglish
team

Hello there, am1go!
 
We're happy that you want to talk to other learners on the website, but please remember that our house rules ask you not to share Skype details or ask for personal information from others. This is to protect all our users! We're looking at ways to make it easier for learners to talk to each other, and you are welcome to join the conversation in the 'comments' section of each page – our Elementary Podcasts often have lots of comments!
 
Have fun, and enjoy the website!
 
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team

fern502008's picture

I didn´t understand the first  exercise for the where they go in a sentence. I´m still confuse

Marwa Radwan's picture

happy to join your website
 

ketaloma's picture

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