Ordering of adverbs

Question

Hi,I have a question about the ordering of adverbs. For example, what are the differences between:"The army quickly invaded the country."and"The army invaded the country quickly."I'm not sure if these are good examples, but should ordering matter in any case?Regards,Michael

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi, I have a question about the ordering of adverbs. For example, what are the differences between: "The army quickly invaded the country." and "The army invaded the country quickly." I'm not sure if these are good examples, but should ordering matter in any case?[/nq]
Technically, no, but for some reason the first tends to imply (to me) that the army quickly went in to invade the country - whereas the second implies that that they not only quickly invaded, but also quickly conquered it. I can imagine the first being followed by "However, they were met with staunch resistance", but the second is more likely to be followed by something like "They captured the capital within hours" (and could even be preceded by "After months of planning,").

Probably just me though.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, I have a question about the ordering of adverbs. For example, what are the differences between: "The army quickly invaded the country." and "The army invaded the country quickly." I'm not sure if these are good examples, but should ordering matter in any case?[/nq]
Sometimes the position of the adverb makes no difference to the meaning of the sentence, in other instances the meaning can be subtly, or even completely, altered.
In the examples you give I'd say that there's a big difference. In "The army quickly invaded the country." I'd read the word 'quickly' to mean 'immediately' - that is to say that it was not very long after some (unspecified) time that the invasion occurred.
In the second example ("The army invaded the country quickly."), 'quickly' tells us how*, rather than *when the invasion occurred, i.e. the invasion did not take long to be completed.

Sadly, position of adverbs is one of the hardest things about English - there are no hard-and-fast rules. Different verbs and different adverbs differ in the way that they behave. A lexical approach is the only solution - learning the meanings of phrases rather than individual words.

Mark Barratt
Budapest

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, I have a question about the ordering of adverbs. For example, what are the differences between: "The army quickly invaded the country." and "The army invaded the country quickly."[/nq]
The first suggests a very short gap between the act that provoked the invasion and the invasion itself.
The second suggests that, however long it took to pluck up the courage to launch the assault, the incursion was conducted at some speed.

When Saddam decided the time was right, his Army quickly invaded Kuwait. When he was good and ready, Norman Schwarzkopf's army invaded Kuwait quickly.

John Dean
Oxford

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Hi, I have a question about the ordering of adverbs. ... invaded the country." and "The army invaded the country quickly."[/nq]
[nq:1]The first suggests a very short gap between the act that provoked the invasion and the invasion itself. The second ... time was right, his Army quickly invaded Kuwait. When he was good and ready, Norman Schwarzkopf's army invaded Kuwait quickly.[/nq]
I agree with your readings. I'm not sure this reveals any general truth about adverb placement. I think it tells us that the adverb "quickly" has several senses and where it is placed can affect what sense is operative, but how exactly this plays out is likely to depend upon individual circumstances.
Eric Walker claim(s/ed) that if the adverb comes before the verb then it is a sentence adverb. It was never clear to me why he thought this. So far as I can tell, Eric's rule does not help us interpret the sentences in question.
Richard R. Hershberger

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I have a question about the ordering of adverbs. For example, what are the differences between: "The army quickly invaded the country." and "The army invaded the country quickly."[/nq]
I would take the second to mean that the quickness of the invasion is the main point. The first could mean that the invasion itself was the main point, but also that it was quick. Mike Hardy

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I have a question about the ordering of adverbs. For ... invaded the country." and "The army invaded the country quickly."[/nq]
[nq:1]I would take the second to mean that the quickness of the invasion is the main point. The first could mean that the invasion itself was the main point, but also that it was quick. Mike Hardy[/nq]
Yes. The first indicates to me they began quickly, the second, that the invasion ended quickly.

dg (domain=ccwebster)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I have a question about the ordering of adverbs. For example, what are the differences between: "The army quickly invaded the country." and "The army invaded the country quickly." I'm not sure if these are good examples, but should ordering matter in any case?[/nq]
In my book, the first is appropriate when the main point of the sentence is the invasion, and "quickly" merely adds information. The second is appropriate when the reader or listener already know that the invasion took place, so that the news in the sentence is given by the adverb.

Joe Fineman joe (Email Removed)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, I have a question about the ordering of adverbs. For example, what are the differences between: "The army quickly invaded the country." and "The army invaded the country quickly." I'm not sure if these are good examples, but should ordering matter in any case?[/nq]
The first means that only a short time elapsed between the decision to invade and the beginning of the invasion.
The second means that the invasion itself didn't take long.

Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Ordering of adverbs

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions