B1 Plus Grammar Section Adverbs & Adverbial Phrases: Word Order

Adverbs & Adverbial Phrases — word order and placement

B1 Upper-Intermediate Initial · Mid · Final

Three main positions

Position	Where?	Common uses	Examples
Initial	At the start of the clause	Comment/viewpoint & time frames	Unfortunately, we arrived late. • Yesterday, I went to the library.
Mid	Before the main verb; after be; after the first auxiliary	Frequency, degree, focus (only/just/even)	I often call him. • They are usually on time. • You must never do that again.
Final	At the end of the clause	Manner, place, time (default spot for longer phrases)	She spoke quietly. • We met in town on Friday.

In questions and negatives with auxiliaries, the adverb comes after the first auxiliary: Have you ever seen…? • We haven’t really decided.

Adverbs of frequency (how often?)

Mid position (typical) I usually work on Saturdays. • She’s hardly ever late.
With be They are often late.
Initial for variation Sometimes/Usually/Normally, we put them first: Sometimes, he can be stubborn.

Adverbs of manner (how?)

Final is most natural She can dance salsa marvellously.
Mid position literary or with passives: He carefully opened the box. • The driver was seriously injured.
Not mid for well, badly, hard, fast → use final: He works hard.
Initial (rare) for stylistic effect: Carefully, she closed the door.

Adverbs of time & place

Final by default They’ll be here soon. • It rained a lot yesterday.
Initial for emphasis/organisation Last week, she arrived late every day.
Order at the end Usually manner → place → time: They met by chance in London in 2019.
With movement verbs Prefer place → manner → time: He goes to school by car every day.

Comment & viewpoint adverbs

Typical at the start Obviously, it won’t work. • Luckily, nobody was hurt.
They can also appear mid-clause for a softer tone: It is, frankly, a bad idea.
Punctuation: a comma is usual when initial; optional when short.

Degree & quantity adverbs

Type	Placement	Example
very, really, quite, rather, extremely, absolutely, incredibly	Before the adjective/adverb they modify	an extremely difficult task • She sings really well.
so, too, enough	so/too before adjective/adverb; enough after adjective/adverb; enough before a noun	so cold, too quickly; warm enough; enough time
much, a lot, a bit	After the verb or verbal phrase	He doesn’t talk much. • We travel a lot. • I’m a bit tired.
already, still, yet	already mid/final; still mid; yet final in negatives/questions	We’ve already finished. • She is still working. • Have you finished yet?

Focus adverbs: only, just, even, also

Place before the word/phrase they modify She only bought a sandwich (=not other things).
With verbs, they usually go in mid position: We also invited Sam. • He just called.

Moving a focus adverb changes the meaning: Only Jane called me ≠ Jane only called me.

Verb + object stay together

Don’t split a verb and its direct object with an adverb.
✔ I like pizza a lot. • ✖ I like a lot pizza.
✔ He speaks English very well. • ✖ He speaks very well English.

Style note: negative adverbials at the start

Formal emphasis with inversion after never, rarely, hardly ever, at no time, etc.: Never have I seen such chaos.
Use sparingly at B1 level; normal word order is fine for everyday speech.

Common pitfalls to avoid

❌ Mid-position after the main verb (wrong place): *I call often him* → ✔ I often call him.
❌ Using yet in affirmatives: *I have yet finished* → ✔ I have already finished / I haven’t finished yet.
❌ Confusing end order: *We met in 2019 in London by chance* → ✔ by chance → in London → in 2019.