Guest Posted 22 years ago
Grammar
"enjoyed ... immensely" vs "greatly enjoyed..."
Dear helpers,
I read in the adverb chapter in my grammar book. It gives these two examples:
“I enjoyed the course immensely” and
“I greatly enjoyed working with them.”
I think that the two adverbs “immensely” and “greatly” both modify the verb “enjoyed.” But why “immensely” is placed at the end of the sentence and “greatly” before the verb?
Can I find a grammar book which will teach me where to place adverbs?
Did I formulate my questions in good English
? If not, corrections will be appreciated.
Many thanks.
I read in the adverb chapter in my grammar book. It gives these two examples:
“I enjoyed the course immensely” and
“I greatly enjoyed working with them.”
I think that the two adverbs “immensely” and “greatly” both modify the verb “enjoyed.” But why “immensely” is placed at the end of the sentence and “greatly” before the verb?
Can I find a grammar book which will teach me where to place adverbs?
Did I formulate my questions in good English
? If not, corrections will be appreciated.Many thanks.
Top answer
Adverb placement is a difficult topic. Most grammar books give some general principles, but in particular cases the principles may seem not to apply because of idiosyncratic adverb patterns which have entered the language over the years. The truth is that the placement of adverbs is more flexible than the placement of any other part of speech, so it is difficult to formulate rules with any precision.
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Adverb placement is a difficult topic. Most grammar books give some general principles, but in particular cases the principles may seem not to apply because of idiosyncratic adverb patterns which have entered the language over the years. The truth is that the placement of adverbs is more flexible than the placement of any other part of speech, so it is difficult to formulate rules with any prec
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Most adverbs of the type you mentioned, called "amplifiers" by some authors, have some freedom of mobility within a sentence, but they will usually appear in "medial" (before the main verb) or "final" position (after an intransitive verb, after an object or complement).
As Jim said, to "greatly enjoy" something is a common collocation in English. "Greatly" will often appear before the v
As Jim said, to "greatly enjoy" something is a common collocation in English. "Greatly" will often appear before the v
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English has many nuances and each carries a subtle change of emphasis
example1: How did I enjoy the course? Answer: Immensely
example2:How much did you enjoy working? Answer Greatly
The spoken language has many more nuances, so....
'I am going to the shops today' may be just a simple phrase, but spoken emphasis could accentuate a word which will change the meaning of what the spea
example1: How did I enjoy the course? Answer: Immensely
example2:How much did you enjoy working? Answer Greatly
The spoken language has many more nuances, so....
'I am going to the shops today' may be just a simple phrase, but spoken emphasis could accentuate a word which will change the meaning of what the spea
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