Adverb and Helping Verb Placement

Question

What is the correct placement of adverbs such as "also" with regard to a verb and helping verb?

For example:

They were also going to go to the store.

They also were going to go to the store.

I thought that I had learned that it is best to keep the helping verb with the verb, but I am not sure where I thought I learned this. But, if true, then the second example above would be correct since "were" is the helping verb to "going."

Thank you very much!

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

What is the correct placement of adverbs such as "also" with regard to a verb and helping verb?-- The latitude with which an adverb can be placed varies somewhat with the kind of adverb (time, manner, etc), with the verb form (simple, phrasal, etc) and sometimes with meaning.

For example:
They were also going to go to the store.

They also were going to go to the store.-- These both seem fine to me. Or at the beginning or end of the sentence, also.

I thought that I had learned that it is best to keep the helping verb with the verb, but I am not sure where I thought I learned this. But, if true, then the second example above would be correct since "were" is the helping verb to "going."-- It is best to get it as near as possible to what it modifies, of course, but I believe most often it is placed immediately before a simple verb ('He also goes') or after the first element of a verb phrase ('He has also been going', 'He will also go').

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousI thought that I had learned that it is best to keep the helping verb with the verb

Not necessarily. Maybe you need to rethink this.

A pretty safe place for also, which is safe for quite a few other adverbs as well, is just after the first operator.

Operators are the modals (can, could, will, would, etc.), the forms of be, and the forms of do or have when these last two are used as auxiliaries.

You can also go ...

I will also try ...

It is also difficult ...
We are also taking ...

They have also seen ...

And just before the main verb if there is no operator.

They also say ...

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks to you both.

In a way, it is odd that "also" would immediately precede the main verb when there is no operator (helping verb), but when there is an operator to the main verb, the operator does not stick to/stay next to the main verb it is "operating," as it would in the case where no adverb is present. Instead, the adverb takes the position of the operator next to the main verb. At time same time, I guess it is consistent that the adverb always stays next to the main verb........

But, I think the thought process was, since the operator "assists" the main verb, and the main verb cannot do without the operator, that those two words stay together -- "have been" -- and the "also" modifies them both. You could remove an "also" from a sentence phrase and still leave it grammatically correct (albeit, changing meaning a bit), but the same would not be true if you removed the operator:

I also have been going to the gym.

I have been going to the gym.

I also been going to the gym.

Anyhow, it does seem from your posts that it may be the case that even if one method is preferred, that either can be correct -- is that true? Or, is this really a hard-set rule?

Thank you again.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AnonymousI guess it is consistent that the adverb always stays next to the main verb........

Yes, because the adverb does modify the verb. This is the order of my preference.

1. I am also going to the store. - This is the most natural position of "also" to me if I am going to more than one place. (I am going to the library and to the store.)

2. I am going to the store also. - This is the second most natural position, it is almost an afterthought.
3. Also, I am going to the store. - Same as the above.

4. I also am going to the store. - This is possible, but the least natural position to me.
5. I am going also to the store.- This is not natural at all.

Anonymous · Answer

AnonymousThanks to you both. In a way, it is odd that "also" would immediately precede the main verb when there is no operator (helping verb), but when there is an operator to the main verb, the operator does not stick to/stay next to the main verb it is "operating," as it would in the case where no adverb is present. Instead, the adverb takes the position of the operator next to the main verb. At time same time, I guess it is consistent that the adverb always stays next to the main verb........ But, I think the thought process was, since the operator "assists" the main verb, and the main verb cannot do without the operator, that those two words stay together -- "have been" -- and the "also" modifies them both. You could remove an "also" from a sentence phrase and still leave it grammatically correct (albeit, changing meaning a bit), but the same would not be true if you removed the operator: I also have been going to the gym.I have been going to the gym.I also been going to the gym. Anyhow, it does seem from your posts that it may be the case that even if one method is preferred, that either can be correct -- is that true? Or, is this really a hard-set rule? Thank you again.

Hi,

CJ is right. 'Also' is an adverb which is put in the mid-position, i.e. between the subject and the main verb, especially after the operator and before the main verb, rarely, if at all, at the end of the sentence.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousIn a way, it is odd that "also" would immediately precede the main verb when there is no operator (helping verb), but when there is an operator to the main verb, the operator does not stick to/stay next to the main verb it is "operating," as it would in the case where no adverb is present.

Some grammarians see both cases as the same. They posit the presence of a "phantom operator" do when there appears to be no operator. Thus,

They also say ...

might be thought of as a transformation of

They do also say ...

so, in a way, also goes after an "operator" (the missing do) even when there is no operator.

Odd way of looking at it, perhaps, but there you have it.

__________________

Anonymouseven if one method is preferred, that either can be correct -- is that true? Or, is this really a hard-set rule?

That's true. It is not a hard-set rule. See A. Stars's examples for a variety of places also can appear in a sentence. Note that she lists as the most natural order the pattern I have been telling you about -- I am also going -- also after the operator am.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you to everyone who responded!!

Adverb and Helping Verb Placement

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