Page 54 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

adverb position (5): emphasising adverbs 25
9 mid-position (details): adverbs with emphatic verbs
When we emphasise auxiliary verbs or amlare/is/was/were, we put most mid-position adverbs before them instead of after. Compare:
- She has certainly made him angry. - I'm really sorry.
She certainly HAS made him angry! I really AM sorry.
- Polite people always say thank-you.
"" Yes, well, I always DO say thank-you.
10 mid-position (details): modal auxiliary verbs
When the first part of the verb phrase is a modal auxiliary (see 353), used to or have to, mid-position adverbs can come before or after the auxiliary.
They sometimes must be bored. (OR They must sometimes be bored.)
She could have easily been killed. (OR She could easily have been killed.) We always used to go to the seaside in May. (OR We used always to go ...
OR We used to always go .••)
11 mid-position (details): American English
In American English (see 51), mid-position adverbs are often put before auxiliary verbs and am/are/is/was/were, even when the verb is not emphasised. Compare:
He has probably arrived by now. (BrE normal)
He probably has arrived by now. (AmE normal, BrE emphatic)
As an extreme example, here are four sentences in a journalistic style taken from an American newspaper article on crime in Britain. The most normal British equivalents are given in brackets.
'Britain long has been known as a land oflaw and order.' (BrE Britain has long been known . ..)
'... but it probably will lead to a vote ...' (BrE ... but it will probably lead ...)
'. .. the Labor Party often has criticized police actions.' (BrE ... the Labour Party has often criticised . ..J
'. . . h e u l t i m a t e l y w a s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e t r e a t m e n t . . . ' (BrE ... he was ultimately responsible ...)
25 adverb position (5): emphasising adverbs
Examples: very, extremely, terribly, just (meaning 'exactly' or 'a short time'), almost, really, right.
These adverbs go directly before the words that they emphasise or 'point to'.
We all thought she sang very well.
Everybody was extremely annoyed with Julian. I'm terribly sorry about last night.
I'll see you in the pub just before eight o'clock. He threw the ball almost over the house.
I'm really tired today.
She walked right past me.
Almost can also go in mid-position (see 24.4).
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