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Zazzex Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
"We have understood what you said now"
Hello,
Q. Can this mean "They understood what you said finally." either of the following?
A. They finally understood what you said.
B. They understood what you finally said.
Q. If so, I guess I should avoid it and use like A or B, correct?
But this is an overly simplified example; in many cases, I think very long multi-words adverb phrases are hard to place in a sentence without confusing meaning, in that case, what should I do?
Thanks a lot.
Q. Can this mean "They understood what you said finally." either of the following?
A. They finally understood what you said.
B. They understood what you finally said.
Q. If so, I guess I should avoid it and use like A or B, correct?
But this is an overly simplified example; in many cases, I think very long multi-words adverb phrases are hard to place in a sentence without confusing meaning, in that case, what should I do?
Thanks a lot.
Top answer
For least ambiguity, you generally put the adverb before the verb it qualifies (though other positions may be possible, and, in cases of no ambiguity, even preferable). " -- finally qualifies "understood". In other words, they didn't understand at first, but eventually they did understand.
- For least ambiguity, you generally put the adverb before the verb it qualifies (though other positions may be possible, and, in cases of no ambiguity, even preferable).
- " -- finally qualifies "understood".
- In other words, they didn't understand at first, but eventually they did understand.
- " -- finally qualifies "said".
- However, in this particular case I don't like this sentence.
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1 Answers
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For least ambiguity, you generally put the adverb before the verb it qualifies (though other positions may be possible, and, in cases of no ambiguity, even preferable).
"They finally understood what you said." -- finally qualifies "understood". In other words, they didn't understand at first, but eventually they did understand.
"They understood what you finally said." -- finally
"They finally understood what you said." -- finally qualifies "understood". In other words, they didn't understand at first, but eventually they did understand.
"They understood what you finally said." -- finally
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