Is the adverb correctly placed in this sentence?

In this website Should an Adverb Go Before or After a Verb? — The Answer it says that

“When there is an object after the verb, the adverb of manner should come before the verb or after the object. It should not come between the verb and the object.”

On the same website there is also this example: “She went quietly up the stairs.” This example contradicts the above statement.

If the object of the sentence is ‘stairs’, shouldn’t it be ‘She quietly went up the stairs’ or ‘She went up the stairs quietly?’ (rather than “She went quietly up the stairs.”

2 Likes

“She quietly went up the stairs”
“She went quietly up the stairs”
“She went up the stairs quietly

To my ear, they all sound okay, though as you move quietly towards the front of the sentence, it gains more emphasis.
I can’t address correctness.

Here is a similar quote.
“Do not go gentle into that good night”

  • Dylan Thomas
2 Likes

I noticed this also.

She went quietly up the stairs.

In this sentence it doesn’t matter where the adverb is placed. The placement of the adverb in this sentence very slightly changes the emphasis. The difference is so subtle, that for native speakers it makes NO difference in the meaning in normal speech or writing.

In creative writing, it can portray a different mood.

She quietly went up the stairs.
She is sneaking. She is intentionally being quiet.

She went quietly up the stairs.
She went up the stairs. It just happened to be quiet. It shows less intent of being quiet. It’s a simple statement of fact.

She went up the stairs quietly.
This shows the least emphases on ‘quietly’.

I’ll repeat that normally it does not matter at all. It only makes a difference in creative writing when the mood is important.

3 Likes

One more example:
Quietly, she went up the stairs.”

2 Likes

Thanks @NearlyNapping and @Arinker

1 Like