C) perhaps, possibly, surely

Adverbs in group (a) above can be placed after be:

He is obviously intelligent. before simple tenses of other verbs:

They certainly work hard. He actually lives next door. after the first auxiliary in a compound verb:

They have presumably sold their house.

at the beginning or at the end of a sentence or clause:

Apparently he knew the town well. He knew the town well apparently.

definitely can be used in the above positions but is less usual at the beginning of a sentence.

perhaps and possibly are chiefly used in front position, though the end position is possible.

surely is normally placed at the beginning or end, though it can also be next to the verb. It is used chiefly in questions:

Surely you could pay £1? You could pay £1, surely? Note that though the adjectives sure and certain mean more or less the same, the adverbs differ in meaning. certainly = definitely:

He was certainly there; there is no doubt about it. But surely indicates that the speaker is not quite sure that the statement which follows is true. He thinks it is, but wants reassurance.

Surely he was there? (I feel almost sure that he was.)

B Other sentence adverbs

admittedly, (un)fortunately, frankly, honestly*, (un)luckily, naturally*, officially* etc. are usually in the front position though the end position is possible. They are normally separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma. Starred adverbs can also be adverbs of manner.

Honestly, Tom didn't get the money. (Sentence adverb, honestly

here means 'truthfully'. The speaker is assuring us that Tom didn't get the money.)

Tom didn 't get the money honestly (adverb of manner) = Tom got the money dishonestly.

41 Adverbs of degree

absolutely, almost, barely, completely, enough, entirely, extremely, fairly, far, hardly, just, much, nearly, only, quite, rather, really, scarcely, so, too, very etc. (For (a) little, see 5 D; for fairly and rather, see 42; for hardly, scarcely, barely, see 44; for quite, see 43.)

A An adverb of degree modifies an adjective or another adverb. It is placed before the adjective or adverb:

You are absolutely right. I'm almost ready. But enough follows its adjective or adverb:

The box isn 't big enough.

He didn't work quickly enough. (See also 252 B.)

B far requires a comparative, or too + positive:

It is far better to say nothing. He drives far too fast. much could replace far here. It can also be used with a superlative: This solution is much the best.

C The following adverbs of degree can also modify verbs:

almost, barely, enough, hardly, just, (a) little, much, nearly, quite, rather, really and scarcely. All except much are then placed before the main verb, like adverbs of frequency (see 38). He almost/nearly fell. I am just going. Tom didn 't like it much but I really enjoyed it. (For much, see 33. For (a) little, see 5 D.)

D only can also modify verbs. In theory it is placed next to the word to which it applies, preceding verbs, adjectives and adverbs and preceding or following nouns and pronouns:

(a) He had only six apples, (not more than six)

(b) He only lent the car. (He didn't give it.)

(c) He lent the car to me only, (not to anyone else)

(d) / believe only half of what he said.

But in spoken English people usually put it before the verb, obtaining the required meaning by stressing the word to which the only applies:

He only had six apples is the same as (a) above.

He only lent the car to me is the same as (c) above.

/ only believe half etc. is the same as (d) above.

E just, like only, should precede the word it qualifies:

/'// buy just one. I had just enough money. It can also be placed immediately before the verb:

/'// just buy one. I just had enough money. But sometimes this change of order would change the meaning:

Just sign here means This is all you have to do. Sign just here means Sign in this particular spot. fairly, rather, quite, hardly etc.

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