The subject, verb and
object normally go together. We do not usually put other
words between the verb and the object.
I play football
He sees Jack
We eat apples
Study the following examples. Notice
how the verb and the subject go together every time.
Do you watch television every
night? (Not - Do you watch every night
television?)
Our teacher speaks Spanish
quickly (Not - Our teacher speaks quickly
Spanish)
Everybody liked the match a
lot (Not
- Everybody liked a lot the match)
Place
Normally the verb and the place
go together:
Walk to the park
Go home
Live in the centre
If the
verb has an object, the place goes directly after the
verb
Meet a friend in a restaurant
Take somebody to a bar
Time
when?
how long? how often?
Usually goes after the "place".
We arrived home at ten o'clock
I have been in Madrid since
June
Did you drive to work this
morning?
Study the following examples. Notice
how the place goes before the time:
I went to Madrid on Monday
We arrived at work three hours
late
They didn't go to the zoo yesterday
as it was too dark
It is sometimes possible to put
the time at the beginning of the sentence:
On Monday I went to Madrid
Yesterday, they didn't go to
the zoo as it was too dark
Some adverbs
probably,
almost, never, usually, etc
This adverbs go with the verb in
the middle of the sentence
I never smoke
We usually go to work by car
Here are some general rules as
to the positioning of adverbs:
1. If the verb is one
word (e.g. walk / speak / does, etc) the adverb usually
goes before the verb.
Exception: "have to". In
this case adverbs go before "have to".
They often speak Spanish
to each other
Children always have to do
their homework.
2. Adverbs
go after "am / is / are / were"
We are always hungry
They are never late
3. If
the verb is two or more words
(e.g. do smoke / can swim, etc) the adverb goes after
the first verb.
Laura and Vicky have never
been to America
Maria doesn't usually smoke
