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Lesson Plan June 30, 2023

Topic: Word Order 02 (Adverbs with the verb)

In this lesson we will look at the the word order of verbs and adverbs in an English sentence.

In English, there are a number of rules about the position of adverbs in a sentence.

Section A

Adverbs that tell us how something happens go after the verb or after the object.

• Alison is speaking very quietly.

• He plays football well.

Sometimes the adverb can be placed before a verb + object to add emphasis.

• It started to rain, so he quickly opened his umbrella.

• She slowly got out of bed.

But if there is no object, the adverb usually goes after the verb.

• She sings beautifully. (NOT She beautifully sings)

The following common adverbs are almost always placed after the verb

well / badly / hard / fast

Section B

Other adverbs, including adverbs of frequency (how often), follow different rules. These adverbs include:

always / often / usually / probably / definitely / never / ever / almost always / hardly ever / both / all / even / already

BASIC RULES

With one-word verbs; before the verb

• Jacob always gets home very late.

• I never drink coffee in the evening.

• She hardly ever speaks to me anymore.

With the verb “be”; after the verb

• Carol is always late.

• Are you ever ill?

• Jack was probably at home this morning.

With multiple-word verbs; after the first verb

• I can never understand her.

• Have you ever been to Japan?

• Look at her. She’s definitely been working too hard.

NOTE: the adverb probably goes before a negative

• I probably won’t see you at the party tonight. (NOT I won’t probably see you)

Section C

Do not confuse the following pairs of adverbs; they look similar but their meanings are different!

Almost always & Almost:

• Almost always: a high level of regularity with a few exceptions

  • "She almost always arrives on time for work."

• Almost: implies something falling just short of happening or being true

  • "He almost won the race, but his opponent crossed the finish line first."

Hardly ever & Hardly:

• Hardly ever: something occurs very rarely or almost never

  • "She hardly ever eats fast food; she prefers home-cooked meals."

• Hardly: something happens to an extremely limited extent or barely at all

  • "He hardly knew anything about the subject; he had just started studying it."

Lesson Notes

• We almost had dinner together as a family, but dad was late yet again.

• This sentence means that the speaker's family was very close to having dinner together, but unfortunately, it didn't happen because the father arrived late once more.

• It suggests that the family had a plan or promise to eat together, but the father's lateness prevented them from eating together.

In the following five examples, "almost" is used to convey the idea of being very close to something happening or being accomplished but falling just short of completion.

• We almost reached the summit of the mountain, but the weather became too dangerous.

• The train almost arrived on time, but there was a delay of just a few minutes.

• She almost won the race, but her opponent crossed the finish line first.

• We almost finished the puzzle, but we were missing one piece.

• He almost caught the ball, but it slipped through his fingers at the last moment.

Examples using “hardly ever” and “hardly”

• 1. I hardly ever eat fast food; I prefer cooking my meals at home.

• 2. I worked so hard on my project that I could hardly keep my eyes open.

• 3. She hardly ever goes to the beach; she's not a fan of swimming.

• 4. He hardly ever watches horror movies; they scare him too much.

• 5. She spoke so softly that I could hardly hear her words.

• 6. He was so tired that he could hardly stay awake during the meeting.

• 7. They hardly ever visit museums; they prefer outdoor activities.

• 8. We hardly ever have dessert; we try to eat healthy.

• 9. The restaurant hardly ever runs out of their popular dish; it's always available.

• 10. They were so far behind in the race that they could hardly see the other runners.