Proper position for adverbs in sentence?

Question

Sometimes I feel confused about putting adverbs in a right place in a sentence, especially when the sentence has more one auxiliary verb. I mean, which ones are right in the following pairs of example sentences.

1. never ?

(1) I never could have done this without you.

(2) I could never have done this without you.

2. kind of ?

(1) It has been kind of a long day to me.

(2) It has kind of been a long day to me.

3. always ?

(1) I'm proud of you. You're independent, and you always have been!

(2) I'm proud of you. You're independent, and you have always been!

4. ever ?

(1) No one has ever said it like that before.

(2) No one has said it like that ever before.

(3) No one ever has said it like that before.

5. ever ? Where should I place "ever" in the sentence below, I mean, instead of using never

I should not have told you that.

(1) I should ever not have told you that.

(2) I should not ever have told you that.

(3) I should not have ever told you that.

6. just ?

(1) We can just talk.

(2) We just can talk.

(1) You just can not talk to him.

(2) You can not just talk to him.

(1) You have just got to keep working hard.

(2) You just have got to keep working hard.

(1) I haven't just finished my homework yet.

(2) I just haven't finished my homework yet.

(1) Every day I get just a little bit closer to destination.

(2) Every day I just get a little bit closer to destination.

Is there any role or something to deal with adverbs like these? Thanks.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

aleileiputting adverbs in a right place in a sentence, especially when the sentence has more one auxiliary verb.

Place adverbs of frequency (always, never, (not) ever, often, sometimes, ...) after the first auxiliary verb. Place it before all verbs if in a tag clause. If both not and ever occur together, ever must come later in the sentence.

kind of and just don't count as adverbs of frequency, by the way.

(1) I never could have done this without you. (OK if you want to emphasize never.)

(2) I could never have done this without you. (Normal placement.)

(1) I'm proud of you. You're independent, and you always have been! (Normal for a tag clause. Stress have in speaking.)

(2) I'm proud of you. You're independent, and you have always been! (Not idiomatic to my ear without the finishing word "independent".)

(1) No one has ever said it like that before. (Normal placement.)

(2) No one has said it like that ever before. (OK to combine ever before as a unit.)

(3) No one ever has said it like that before. (Not idiomatic to my ear.)

(1) I should ever not have told you that. (Impossible. Wrong order for ever and not.)

(2) I should not ever have told you that. (Normal, but never is more idiomatic than not ever.)

(3) I should not have ever told you that. (Not idiomatic to my ear.)
______________________

kind of is an adverbial of degree. Place it as close to what it modifies as grammatically possible.

(1) It has been kind of a long day to me. (Yes. kind of/somewhat - long.)

(2) It has kind of been a long day to me. (No. Not kind of/somewhat - been.)
______________

It depends which word just is most closely associated with. Place it as close as possible.

(1) We can just talk. (Good. just talk. Do nothing else but talk.)

(2) We just can talk. (Not idiomatic to my ear.)

(1) You just can not talk to him. (OK in the meaning You simply cannot talk to him.)

(2) You can not just talk to him. (OK in the meaning You cannot do nothing else but talk to him. -- that is, You must do something more than talk to him. Odd meaning, but possible grammatically.)

(1) You have just got to keep working hard. (OK)

(2) You just have got to keep working hard. (OK, but I prefer the previous one. Both imply that there is no choice but to keep working hard.)

(1) I haven't just finished my homework yet. (No.)

(2) I just haven't finished my homework yet. (OK. just = simply: It is just/simply that I haven't finished ...)
But you can have: I have just finished my homework. (Here just = very, very recently.)

(1) Every day I get just a little bit closer to (my) destination. (OK. just a little is the grouping, i.e., I get closer, but not more than a little bit closer.)

(2) Every day I just get a little bit closer to (my) destination. (OK. I do no more than get a little bit closer.)

CJ

Aleilei · Answer

CalifJim

Place adverbs of frequency (always, never, (not) ever, often, sometimes, ...) after the first auxiliary verb. Place it before all verbs if in a tag clause. ]

Thanks, I got the most part. There's knid of a silly question, what is tag clause?

CalifJim · Answer

aleileiwhat is tag clause?

It's a term I made up for the purpose of explaining that one example you had where the main verb was not included in the clause.

He thought I had already eaten the leftover turkey, and I had already eaten it.

He thought I had already eaten the leftover turkey, and I already had. (No "eaten")

NOT: ... and I had already.

In other words, the natural placement of the adverb changes if you leave out the main verb, as when you "tag on" a clause like the one shown above. (Tag in italics.)

CJ

Aleilei · Answer

Thank you for your explanation, CalifJim. The rule you put is very simple and clear!<img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/10.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/10.gif' alt='Emotion: embarrassed'/>

Proper position for adverbs in sentence?

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