Placing an adverb between a verb and an object?
The rule: "We don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object" (Cambridge Dictionary)
But some sentences confuse me :
1-He drew only a rabbit. (All he drew was a rabbit but he might have done other things while drawing like listening to music)
2-He read only the end of the book. (All he read was the end of the book)
1'-He only drew a rabbit. (All he did was drawing a rabbit)
2'-He only read the end of the book. (All he did was reading the end of the book)
I think (1 and 1') + (2 and 2') are not the same. So are (1 and 2) grammatically correct ? That means rule is not always true ?
adverb-placement
add a comment |
The rule: "We don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object" (Cambridge Dictionary)
But some sentences confuse me :
1-He drew only a rabbit. (All he drew was a rabbit but he might have done other things while drawing like listening to music)
2-He read only the end of the book. (All he read was the end of the book)
1'-He only drew a rabbit. (All he did was drawing a rabbit)
2'-He only read the end of the book. (All he did was reading the end of the book)
I think (1 and 1') + (2 and 2') are not the same. So are (1 and 2) grammatically correct ? That means rule is not always true ?
adverb-placement
1
In 1' and 2', you've written "only" twice. I think you forgot to delete the second instance in each case.
– hguler
8 hours ago
1
Yeah thank you.
– Talha Özden
8 hours ago
1
Related on our sister site: Correct position of "only".
– Robusto
8 hours ago
Those are not adverbs modifying the nouns rabbit or end: those are adjectives.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
The rule: "We don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object" (Cambridge Dictionary)
But some sentences confuse me :
1-He drew only a rabbit. (All he drew was a rabbit but he might have done other things while drawing like listening to music)
2-He read only the end of the book. (All he read was the end of the book)
1'-He only drew a rabbit. (All he did was drawing a rabbit)
2'-He only read the end of the book. (All he did was reading the end of the book)
I think (1 and 1') + (2 and 2') are not the same. So are (1 and 2) grammatically correct ? That means rule is not always true ?
adverb-placement
The rule: "We don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object" (Cambridge Dictionary)
But some sentences confuse me :
1-He drew only a rabbit. (All he drew was a rabbit but he might have done other things while drawing like listening to music)
2-He read only the end of the book. (All he read was the end of the book)
1'-He only drew a rabbit. (All he did was drawing a rabbit)
2'-He only read the end of the book. (All he did was reading the end of the book)
I think (1 and 1') + (2 and 2') are not the same. So are (1 and 2) grammatically correct ? That means rule is not always true ?
adverb-placement
adverb-placement
edited 8 hours ago
Talha Özden
asked 8 hours ago
Talha ÖzdenTalha Özden
15616
15616
1
In 1' and 2', you've written "only" twice. I think you forgot to delete the second instance in each case.
– hguler
8 hours ago
1
Yeah thank you.
– Talha Özden
8 hours ago
1
Related on our sister site: Correct position of "only".
– Robusto
8 hours ago
Those are not adverbs modifying the nouns rabbit or end: those are adjectives.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
1
In 1' and 2', you've written "only" twice. I think you forgot to delete the second instance in each case.
– hguler
8 hours ago
1
Yeah thank you.
– Talha Özden
8 hours ago
1
Related on our sister site: Correct position of "only".
– Robusto
8 hours ago
Those are not adverbs modifying the nouns rabbit or end: those are adjectives.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
1
1
In 1' and 2', you've written "only" twice. I think you forgot to delete the second instance in each case.
– hguler
8 hours ago
In 1' and 2', you've written "only" twice. I think you forgot to delete the second instance in each case.
– hguler
8 hours ago
1
1
Yeah thank you.
– Talha Özden
8 hours ago
Yeah thank you.
– Talha Özden
8 hours ago
1
1
Related on our sister site: Correct position of "only".
– Robusto
8 hours ago
Related on our sister site: Correct position of "only".
– Robusto
8 hours ago
Those are not adverbs modifying the nouns rabbit or end: those are adjectives.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
Those are not adverbs modifying the nouns rabbit or end: those are adjectives.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
To paraphrase "Pirates of the Caribbean", think of this more as a guideline than an actual rule. With creative writing, it is often possible to place the adverb anywhere it sounds good.
Because this is an uncommon placement, When done properly, it can sound dramatic.
They flung wide the doors of the hall, letting sunlight stream into every dark corner.
Done poorly, or in an odd context, it just sounds awkward, e.g. "She ate greedily the cake."
In the future, if you see this kind of sentence structure (and you trust the writer is doing it on purpose) take note of the context, and recognize that the sentence might feel different from the usual phrasing.
1
"wide" is not an adverb. It's an adjective. It describes the state of the object after the verb was performed, much like "The drill instructor ran the recruits ragged" or "They arrived late".
– Acccumulation
6 hours ago
@Acccumulation You may be right, but my example sentence seems much in line with Oxford adverb definition 1, "To the fullest extent" which would seem to modify "flung" not "doors". But I could always use a different example of the same thing, e.g. "She opened wide her eyes and gazed at the radiant vista before her."
– Andrew
5 hours ago
You wouldn't say "They wide flung the doors". "wide" doesn't seem to be an adverb here. You could say "They flung the doors wide". In each example sentence "wide" has the sense of "open", and Oxford doesn't say "open" can be an adverb. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/open
– CJ Dennis
3 hours ago
add a comment |
[I had already written most of this before @Andrew posted his answer. It says pretty much the same thing, but I thought I might as well post it, having written it.]
"Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object" is more general advice, probably particularly useful for English language learners, rather than a hard and fast rule.
It definitely is possible to put an adverb between the verb and the object, and often it will sound just fine to an English-speaking ear.
I sang loudly to the audience.
She ran quickly to the bus stop.
The two examples you cite sound fine to me, even if placing the adverb before the verb would sound more 'normal'.
However, it depends on the words being used. As @Andrew says in his answer, it can even be a deliberate choice for literary effect.
As to why some phrases sound complete bizarre, and others sound perfectly ok, I am really not sure.
Eg:
He played brilliantly the piano
sounds completely wrong and would never be said by a native speaker.
Somebody else might be able to explain why.
1
Could it be because your first two examples have an indirect object, whereas the last one has a direct object? Perhaps the preposition "to" makes the object "long and complicated," so that putting the adverb before the object becomes acceptable. Note that "I sang loudly the song" and "She ran slowly the marathon" are no better than "He played brilliantly the piano."
– hguler
7 hours ago
You're right. That seems to be correct.
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
'to the audience' and 'to the bus stop' are not objects at all, but prepositional phrases acting as an adjunct, so adverbs can be used before them relatively freely. Adverbs of manner (which usually end -ly) can rarely be used before a direct object (He played brilliantly the piano). 'They flung wide/open the doors' sounds acceptable partly because we would never say 'They flung the doors' (I'm not sure why),
– Sydney
7 hours ago
It's still an object, isn't it? It just so happens that the object is a prepositional phrase? You are quite right that that's why it sounds ok, but it only goes to show that, as 'rules' go, this one is pretty useless. "Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object, unless the object is a prepositional phrase, or one of a number of other exceptions, or it's a long and complicated sentence".
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
@fred2 Prepositional phrases are not core arguments to the verb as direct and indirect objects are. They are usually only adjuncts but sometimes are oblique arguments. Core and oblique arguments are subject to different syntactic rules. There are rules about what can fall between the verb and its arguments, and these work differently than with adjuncts. Nothing can ever fall between V and IO, and between IO and DO only at peril of throwing the baby out the window a new toy.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
The rule you've quoted is not always followed. See this discussion, in which it is pointed out that the adverb can go between the verb and the object when the object is long or complicated.
Note, however, that there isn't necessarily a difference in meaning between 1 and 1' and between 2 and 2'. Drawing a rabbit is a little unusual, so let's take the example of eating an apple. "I only ate an apple" means "I ate an apple and nothing else." In contrast, "I ate only an apple" is correct but slightly awkward. In spoken English, you could put an emphasis on the word "ate" to indicate that "only" is modifying "apple" and not "ate", as in:
I only ate an apple.
but in written English (and in spoken English when the word "ate" is not emphasized),
I only ate an apple.
means you ate an apple and nothing else.
If you want to say that you did nothing more than eat an apple, "I merely ate an apple", or "I did nothing more than eat an apple," or, as you suggested, "All I did was eat an apple," would be better ways to indicate that. (The last way is the most natural.)
New contributor
1
Note that in “I ate only an apple”, the word only is an adjective, not an adverb. Nonetheless there are analyses under which only is classed as a focuser in both cases.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "481"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f198700%2fplacing-an-adverb-between-a-verb-and-an-object%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
To paraphrase "Pirates of the Caribbean", think of this more as a guideline than an actual rule. With creative writing, it is often possible to place the adverb anywhere it sounds good.
Because this is an uncommon placement, When done properly, it can sound dramatic.
They flung wide the doors of the hall, letting sunlight stream into every dark corner.
Done poorly, or in an odd context, it just sounds awkward, e.g. "She ate greedily the cake."
In the future, if you see this kind of sentence structure (and you trust the writer is doing it on purpose) take note of the context, and recognize that the sentence might feel different from the usual phrasing.
1
"wide" is not an adverb. It's an adjective. It describes the state of the object after the verb was performed, much like "The drill instructor ran the recruits ragged" or "They arrived late".
– Acccumulation
6 hours ago
@Acccumulation You may be right, but my example sentence seems much in line with Oxford adverb definition 1, "To the fullest extent" which would seem to modify "flung" not "doors". But I could always use a different example of the same thing, e.g. "She opened wide her eyes and gazed at the radiant vista before her."
– Andrew
5 hours ago
You wouldn't say "They wide flung the doors". "wide" doesn't seem to be an adverb here. You could say "They flung the doors wide". In each example sentence "wide" has the sense of "open", and Oxford doesn't say "open" can be an adverb. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/open
– CJ Dennis
3 hours ago
add a comment |
To paraphrase "Pirates of the Caribbean", think of this more as a guideline than an actual rule. With creative writing, it is often possible to place the adverb anywhere it sounds good.
Because this is an uncommon placement, When done properly, it can sound dramatic.
They flung wide the doors of the hall, letting sunlight stream into every dark corner.
Done poorly, or in an odd context, it just sounds awkward, e.g. "She ate greedily the cake."
In the future, if you see this kind of sentence structure (and you trust the writer is doing it on purpose) take note of the context, and recognize that the sentence might feel different from the usual phrasing.
1
"wide" is not an adverb. It's an adjective. It describes the state of the object after the verb was performed, much like "The drill instructor ran the recruits ragged" or "They arrived late".
– Acccumulation
6 hours ago
@Acccumulation You may be right, but my example sentence seems much in line with Oxford adverb definition 1, "To the fullest extent" which would seem to modify "flung" not "doors". But I could always use a different example of the same thing, e.g. "She opened wide her eyes and gazed at the radiant vista before her."
– Andrew
5 hours ago
You wouldn't say "They wide flung the doors". "wide" doesn't seem to be an adverb here. You could say "They flung the doors wide". In each example sentence "wide" has the sense of "open", and Oxford doesn't say "open" can be an adverb. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/open
– CJ Dennis
3 hours ago
add a comment |
To paraphrase "Pirates of the Caribbean", think of this more as a guideline than an actual rule. With creative writing, it is often possible to place the adverb anywhere it sounds good.
Because this is an uncommon placement, When done properly, it can sound dramatic.
They flung wide the doors of the hall, letting sunlight stream into every dark corner.
Done poorly, or in an odd context, it just sounds awkward, e.g. "She ate greedily the cake."
In the future, if you see this kind of sentence structure (and you trust the writer is doing it on purpose) take note of the context, and recognize that the sentence might feel different from the usual phrasing.
To paraphrase "Pirates of the Caribbean", think of this more as a guideline than an actual rule. With creative writing, it is often possible to place the adverb anywhere it sounds good.
Because this is an uncommon placement, When done properly, it can sound dramatic.
They flung wide the doors of the hall, letting sunlight stream into every dark corner.
Done poorly, or in an odd context, it just sounds awkward, e.g. "She ate greedily the cake."
In the future, if you see this kind of sentence structure (and you trust the writer is doing it on purpose) take note of the context, and recognize that the sentence might feel different from the usual phrasing.
answered 8 hours ago
AndrewAndrew
69.1k678153
69.1k678153
1
"wide" is not an adverb. It's an adjective. It describes the state of the object after the verb was performed, much like "The drill instructor ran the recruits ragged" or "They arrived late".
– Acccumulation
6 hours ago
@Acccumulation You may be right, but my example sentence seems much in line with Oxford adverb definition 1, "To the fullest extent" which would seem to modify "flung" not "doors". But I could always use a different example of the same thing, e.g. "She opened wide her eyes and gazed at the radiant vista before her."
– Andrew
5 hours ago
You wouldn't say "They wide flung the doors". "wide" doesn't seem to be an adverb here. You could say "They flung the doors wide". In each example sentence "wide" has the sense of "open", and Oxford doesn't say "open" can be an adverb. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/open
– CJ Dennis
3 hours ago
add a comment |
1
"wide" is not an adverb. It's an adjective. It describes the state of the object after the verb was performed, much like "The drill instructor ran the recruits ragged" or "They arrived late".
– Acccumulation
6 hours ago
@Acccumulation You may be right, but my example sentence seems much in line with Oxford adverb definition 1, "To the fullest extent" which would seem to modify "flung" not "doors". But I could always use a different example of the same thing, e.g. "She opened wide her eyes and gazed at the radiant vista before her."
– Andrew
5 hours ago
You wouldn't say "They wide flung the doors". "wide" doesn't seem to be an adverb here. You could say "They flung the doors wide". In each example sentence "wide" has the sense of "open", and Oxford doesn't say "open" can be an adverb. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/open
– CJ Dennis
3 hours ago
1
1
"wide" is not an adverb. It's an adjective. It describes the state of the object after the verb was performed, much like "The drill instructor ran the recruits ragged" or "They arrived late".
– Acccumulation
6 hours ago
"wide" is not an adverb. It's an adjective. It describes the state of the object after the verb was performed, much like "The drill instructor ran the recruits ragged" or "They arrived late".
– Acccumulation
6 hours ago
@Acccumulation You may be right, but my example sentence seems much in line with Oxford adverb definition 1, "To the fullest extent" which would seem to modify "flung" not "doors". But I could always use a different example of the same thing, e.g. "She opened wide her eyes and gazed at the radiant vista before her."
– Andrew
5 hours ago
@Acccumulation You may be right, but my example sentence seems much in line with Oxford adverb definition 1, "To the fullest extent" which would seem to modify "flung" not "doors". But I could always use a different example of the same thing, e.g. "She opened wide her eyes and gazed at the radiant vista before her."
– Andrew
5 hours ago
You wouldn't say "They wide flung the doors". "wide" doesn't seem to be an adverb here. You could say "They flung the doors wide". In each example sentence "wide" has the sense of "open", and Oxford doesn't say "open" can be an adverb. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/open
– CJ Dennis
3 hours ago
You wouldn't say "They wide flung the doors". "wide" doesn't seem to be an adverb here. You could say "They flung the doors wide". In each example sentence "wide" has the sense of "open", and Oxford doesn't say "open" can be an adverb. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/open
– CJ Dennis
3 hours ago
add a comment |
[I had already written most of this before @Andrew posted his answer. It says pretty much the same thing, but I thought I might as well post it, having written it.]
"Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object" is more general advice, probably particularly useful for English language learners, rather than a hard and fast rule.
It definitely is possible to put an adverb between the verb and the object, and often it will sound just fine to an English-speaking ear.
I sang loudly to the audience.
She ran quickly to the bus stop.
The two examples you cite sound fine to me, even if placing the adverb before the verb would sound more 'normal'.
However, it depends on the words being used. As @Andrew says in his answer, it can even be a deliberate choice for literary effect.
As to why some phrases sound complete bizarre, and others sound perfectly ok, I am really not sure.
Eg:
He played brilliantly the piano
sounds completely wrong and would never be said by a native speaker.
Somebody else might be able to explain why.
1
Could it be because your first two examples have an indirect object, whereas the last one has a direct object? Perhaps the preposition "to" makes the object "long and complicated," so that putting the adverb before the object becomes acceptable. Note that "I sang loudly the song" and "She ran slowly the marathon" are no better than "He played brilliantly the piano."
– hguler
7 hours ago
You're right. That seems to be correct.
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
'to the audience' and 'to the bus stop' are not objects at all, but prepositional phrases acting as an adjunct, so adverbs can be used before them relatively freely. Adverbs of manner (which usually end -ly) can rarely be used before a direct object (He played brilliantly the piano). 'They flung wide/open the doors' sounds acceptable partly because we would never say 'They flung the doors' (I'm not sure why),
– Sydney
7 hours ago
It's still an object, isn't it? It just so happens that the object is a prepositional phrase? You are quite right that that's why it sounds ok, but it only goes to show that, as 'rules' go, this one is pretty useless. "Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object, unless the object is a prepositional phrase, or one of a number of other exceptions, or it's a long and complicated sentence".
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
@fred2 Prepositional phrases are not core arguments to the verb as direct and indirect objects are. They are usually only adjuncts but sometimes are oblique arguments. Core and oblique arguments are subject to different syntactic rules. There are rules about what can fall between the verb and its arguments, and these work differently than with adjuncts. Nothing can ever fall between V and IO, and between IO and DO only at peril of throwing the baby out the window a new toy.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
[I had already written most of this before @Andrew posted his answer. It says pretty much the same thing, but I thought I might as well post it, having written it.]
"Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object" is more general advice, probably particularly useful for English language learners, rather than a hard and fast rule.
It definitely is possible to put an adverb between the verb and the object, and often it will sound just fine to an English-speaking ear.
I sang loudly to the audience.
She ran quickly to the bus stop.
The two examples you cite sound fine to me, even if placing the adverb before the verb would sound more 'normal'.
However, it depends on the words being used. As @Andrew says in his answer, it can even be a deliberate choice for literary effect.
As to why some phrases sound complete bizarre, and others sound perfectly ok, I am really not sure.
Eg:
He played brilliantly the piano
sounds completely wrong and would never be said by a native speaker.
Somebody else might be able to explain why.
1
Could it be because your first two examples have an indirect object, whereas the last one has a direct object? Perhaps the preposition "to" makes the object "long and complicated," so that putting the adverb before the object becomes acceptable. Note that "I sang loudly the song" and "She ran slowly the marathon" are no better than "He played brilliantly the piano."
– hguler
7 hours ago
You're right. That seems to be correct.
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
'to the audience' and 'to the bus stop' are not objects at all, but prepositional phrases acting as an adjunct, so adverbs can be used before them relatively freely. Adverbs of manner (which usually end -ly) can rarely be used before a direct object (He played brilliantly the piano). 'They flung wide/open the doors' sounds acceptable partly because we would never say 'They flung the doors' (I'm not sure why),
– Sydney
7 hours ago
It's still an object, isn't it? It just so happens that the object is a prepositional phrase? You are quite right that that's why it sounds ok, but it only goes to show that, as 'rules' go, this one is pretty useless. "Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object, unless the object is a prepositional phrase, or one of a number of other exceptions, or it's a long and complicated sentence".
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
@fred2 Prepositional phrases are not core arguments to the verb as direct and indirect objects are. They are usually only adjuncts but sometimes are oblique arguments. Core and oblique arguments are subject to different syntactic rules. There are rules about what can fall between the verb and its arguments, and these work differently than with adjuncts. Nothing can ever fall between V and IO, and between IO and DO only at peril of throwing the baby out the window a new toy.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
[I had already written most of this before @Andrew posted his answer. It says pretty much the same thing, but I thought I might as well post it, having written it.]
"Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object" is more general advice, probably particularly useful for English language learners, rather than a hard and fast rule.
It definitely is possible to put an adverb between the verb and the object, and often it will sound just fine to an English-speaking ear.
I sang loudly to the audience.
She ran quickly to the bus stop.
The two examples you cite sound fine to me, even if placing the adverb before the verb would sound more 'normal'.
However, it depends on the words being used. As @Andrew says in his answer, it can even be a deliberate choice for literary effect.
As to why some phrases sound complete bizarre, and others sound perfectly ok, I am really not sure.
Eg:
He played brilliantly the piano
sounds completely wrong and would never be said by a native speaker.
Somebody else might be able to explain why.
[I had already written most of this before @Andrew posted his answer. It says pretty much the same thing, but I thought I might as well post it, having written it.]
"Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object" is more general advice, probably particularly useful for English language learners, rather than a hard and fast rule.
It definitely is possible to put an adverb between the verb and the object, and often it will sound just fine to an English-speaking ear.
I sang loudly to the audience.
She ran quickly to the bus stop.
The two examples you cite sound fine to me, even if placing the adverb before the verb would sound more 'normal'.
However, it depends on the words being used. As @Andrew says in his answer, it can even be a deliberate choice for literary effect.
As to why some phrases sound complete bizarre, and others sound perfectly ok, I am really not sure.
Eg:
He played brilliantly the piano
sounds completely wrong and would never be said by a native speaker.
Somebody else might be able to explain why.
answered 8 hours ago
fred2fred2
1,840613
1,840613
1
Could it be because your first two examples have an indirect object, whereas the last one has a direct object? Perhaps the preposition "to" makes the object "long and complicated," so that putting the adverb before the object becomes acceptable. Note that "I sang loudly the song" and "She ran slowly the marathon" are no better than "He played brilliantly the piano."
– hguler
7 hours ago
You're right. That seems to be correct.
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
'to the audience' and 'to the bus stop' are not objects at all, but prepositional phrases acting as an adjunct, so adverbs can be used before them relatively freely. Adverbs of manner (which usually end -ly) can rarely be used before a direct object (He played brilliantly the piano). 'They flung wide/open the doors' sounds acceptable partly because we would never say 'They flung the doors' (I'm not sure why),
– Sydney
7 hours ago
It's still an object, isn't it? It just so happens that the object is a prepositional phrase? You are quite right that that's why it sounds ok, but it only goes to show that, as 'rules' go, this one is pretty useless. "Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object, unless the object is a prepositional phrase, or one of a number of other exceptions, or it's a long and complicated sentence".
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
@fred2 Prepositional phrases are not core arguments to the verb as direct and indirect objects are. They are usually only adjuncts but sometimes are oblique arguments. Core and oblique arguments are subject to different syntactic rules. There are rules about what can fall between the verb and its arguments, and these work differently than with adjuncts. Nothing can ever fall between V and IO, and between IO and DO only at peril of throwing the baby out the window a new toy.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
1
Could it be because your first two examples have an indirect object, whereas the last one has a direct object? Perhaps the preposition "to" makes the object "long and complicated," so that putting the adverb before the object becomes acceptable. Note that "I sang loudly the song" and "She ran slowly the marathon" are no better than "He played brilliantly the piano."
– hguler
7 hours ago
You're right. That seems to be correct.
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
'to the audience' and 'to the bus stop' are not objects at all, but prepositional phrases acting as an adjunct, so adverbs can be used before them relatively freely. Adverbs of manner (which usually end -ly) can rarely be used before a direct object (He played brilliantly the piano). 'They flung wide/open the doors' sounds acceptable partly because we would never say 'They flung the doors' (I'm not sure why),
– Sydney
7 hours ago
It's still an object, isn't it? It just so happens that the object is a prepositional phrase? You are quite right that that's why it sounds ok, but it only goes to show that, as 'rules' go, this one is pretty useless. "Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object, unless the object is a prepositional phrase, or one of a number of other exceptions, or it's a long and complicated sentence".
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
@fred2 Prepositional phrases are not core arguments to the verb as direct and indirect objects are. They are usually only adjuncts but sometimes are oblique arguments. Core and oblique arguments are subject to different syntactic rules. There are rules about what can fall between the verb and its arguments, and these work differently than with adjuncts. Nothing can ever fall between V and IO, and between IO and DO only at peril of throwing the baby out the window a new toy.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
1
1
Could it be because your first two examples have an indirect object, whereas the last one has a direct object? Perhaps the preposition "to" makes the object "long and complicated," so that putting the adverb before the object becomes acceptable. Note that "I sang loudly the song" and "She ran slowly the marathon" are no better than "He played brilliantly the piano."
– hguler
7 hours ago
Could it be because your first two examples have an indirect object, whereas the last one has a direct object? Perhaps the preposition "to" makes the object "long and complicated," so that putting the adverb before the object becomes acceptable. Note that "I sang loudly the song" and "She ran slowly the marathon" are no better than "He played brilliantly the piano."
– hguler
7 hours ago
You're right. That seems to be correct.
– fred2
7 hours ago
You're right. That seems to be correct.
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
1
'to the audience' and 'to the bus stop' are not objects at all, but prepositional phrases acting as an adjunct, so adverbs can be used before them relatively freely. Adverbs of manner (which usually end -ly) can rarely be used before a direct object (He played brilliantly the piano). 'They flung wide/open the doors' sounds acceptable partly because we would never say 'They flung the doors' (I'm not sure why),
– Sydney
7 hours ago
'to the audience' and 'to the bus stop' are not objects at all, but prepositional phrases acting as an adjunct, so adverbs can be used before them relatively freely. Adverbs of manner (which usually end -ly) can rarely be used before a direct object (He played brilliantly the piano). 'They flung wide/open the doors' sounds acceptable partly because we would never say 'They flung the doors' (I'm not sure why),
– Sydney
7 hours ago
It's still an object, isn't it? It just so happens that the object is a prepositional phrase? You are quite right that that's why it sounds ok, but it only goes to show that, as 'rules' go, this one is pretty useless. "Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object, unless the object is a prepositional phrase, or one of a number of other exceptions, or it's a long and complicated sentence".
– fred2
7 hours ago
It's still an object, isn't it? It just so happens that the object is a prepositional phrase? You are quite right that that's why it sounds ok, but it only goes to show that, as 'rules' go, this one is pretty useless. "Don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object, unless the object is a prepositional phrase, or one of a number of other exceptions, or it's a long and complicated sentence".
– fred2
7 hours ago
1
1
@fred2 Prepositional phrases are not core arguments to the verb as direct and indirect objects are. They are usually only adjuncts but sometimes are oblique arguments. Core and oblique arguments are subject to different syntactic rules. There are rules about what can fall between the verb and its arguments, and these work differently than with adjuncts. Nothing can ever fall between V and IO, and between IO and DO only at peril of throwing the baby out the window a new toy.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
@fred2 Prepositional phrases are not core arguments to the verb as direct and indirect objects are. They are usually only adjuncts but sometimes are oblique arguments. Core and oblique arguments are subject to different syntactic rules. There are rules about what can fall between the verb and its arguments, and these work differently than with adjuncts. Nothing can ever fall between V and IO, and between IO and DO only at peril of throwing the baby out the window a new toy.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
The rule you've quoted is not always followed. See this discussion, in which it is pointed out that the adverb can go between the verb and the object when the object is long or complicated.
Note, however, that there isn't necessarily a difference in meaning between 1 and 1' and between 2 and 2'. Drawing a rabbit is a little unusual, so let's take the example of eating an apple. "I only ate an apple" means "I ate an apple and nothing else." In contrast, "I ate only an apple" is correct but slightly awkward. In spoken English, you could put an emphasis on the word "ate" to indicate that "only" is modifying "apple" and not "ate", as in:
I only ate an apple.
but in written English (and in spoken English when the word "ate" is not emphasized),
I only ate an apple.
means you ate an apple and nothing else.
If you want to say that you did nothing more than eat an apple, "I merely ate an apple", or "I did nothing more than eat an apple," or, as you suggested, "All I did was eat an apple," would be better ways to indicate that. (The last way is the most natural.)
New contributor
1
Note that in “I ate only an apple”, the word only is an adjective, not an adverb. Nonetheless there are analyses under which only is classed as a focuser in both cases.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
The rule you've quoted is not always followed. See this discussion, in which it is pointed out that the adverb can go between the verb and the object when the object is long or complicated.
Note, however, that there isn't necessarily a difference in meaning between 1 and 1' and between 2 and 2'. Drawing a rabbit is a little unusual, so let's take the example of eating an apple. "I only ate an apple" means "I ate an apple and nothing else." In contrast, "I ate only an apple" is correct but slightly awkward. In spoken English, you could put an emphasis on the word "ate" to indicate that "only" is modifying "apple" and not "ate", as in:
I only ate an apple.
but in written English (and in spoken English when the word "ate" is not emphasized),
I only ate an apple.
means you ate an apple and nothing else.
If you want to say that you did nothing more than eat an apple, "I merely ate an apple", or "I did nothing more than eat an apple," or, as you suggested, "All I did was eat an apple," would be better ways to indicate that. (The last way is the most natural.)
New contributor
1
Note that in “I ate only an apple”, the word only is an adjective, not an adverb. Nonetheless there are analyses under which only is classed as a focuser in both cases.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
The rule you've quoted is not always followed. See this discussion, in which it is pointed out that the adverb can go between the verb and the object when the object is long or complicated.
Note, however, that there isn't necessarily a difference in meaning between 1 and 1' and between 2 and 2'. Drawing a rabbit is a little unusual, so let's take the example of eating an apple. "I only ate an apple" means "I ate an apple and nothing else." In contrast, "I ate only an apple" is correct but slightly awkward. In spoken English, you could put an emphasis on the word "ate" to indicate that "only" is modifying "apple" and not "ate", as in:
I only ate an apple.
but in written English (and in spoken English when the word "ate" is not emphasized),
I only ate an apple.
means you ate an apple and nothing else.
If you want to say that you did nothing more than eat an apple, "I merely ate an apple", or "I did nothing more than eat an apple," or, as you suggested, "All I did was eat an apple," would be better ways to indicate that. (The last way is the most natural.)
New contributor
The rule you've quoted is not always followed. See this discussion, in which it is pointed out that the adverb can go between the verb and the object when the object is long or complicated.
Note, however, that there isn't necessarily a difference in meaning between 1 and 1' and between 2 and 2'. Drawing a rabbit is a little unusual, so let's take the example of eating an apple. "I only ate an apple" means "I ate an apple and nothing else." In contrast, "I ate only an apple" is correct but slightly awkward. In spoken English, you could put an emphasis on the word "ate" to indicate that "only" is modifying "apple" and not "ate", as in:
I only ate an apple.
but in written English (and in spoken English when the word "ate" is not emphasized),
I only ate an apple.
means you ate an apple and nothing else.
If you want to say that you did nothing more than eat an apple, "I merely ate an apple", or "I did nothing more than eat an apple," or, as you suggested, "All I did was eat an apple," would be better ways to indicate that. (The last way is the most natural.)
New contributor
edited 7 hours ago
New contributor
answered 8 hours ago
hgulerhguler
3264
3264
New contributor
New contributor
1
Note that in “I ate only an apple”, the word only is an adjective, not an adverb. Nonetheless there are analyses under which only is classed as a focuser in both cases.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
1
Note that in “I ate only an apple”, the word only is an adjective, not an adverb. Nonetheless there are analyses under which only is classed as a focuser in both cases.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
1
1
Note that in “I ate only an apple”, the word only is an adjective, not an adverb. Nonetheless there are analyses under which only is classed as a focuser in both cases.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
Note that in “I ate only an apple”, the word only is an adjective, not an adverb. Nonetheless there are analyses under which only is classed as a focuser in both cases.
– tchrist
3 hours ago
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f198700%2fplacing-an-adverb-between-a-verb-and-an-object%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
1
In 1' and 2', you've written "only" twice. I think you forgot to delete the second instance in each case.
– hguler
8 hours ago
1
Yeah thank you.
– Talha Özden
8 hours ago
1
Related on our sister site: Correct position of "only".
– Robusto
8 hours ago
Those are not adverbs modifying the nouns rabbit or end: those are adjectives.
– tchrist
3 hours ago