The position of adverbs when there are two or more aux verbs.

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi Alan,

What is the position of adverbs in a sentence when there are two or more auxiliaries.
Is front, mid or end position. Most grammars say that the adverb comes after the first auxiliary. I want your opinion, please.

Therefore, is the following correct: David Carradine would never have committed suicide./ Sometimes you also hear: David Carradine would have never committed suicide./ or David Carradine never would have committed suicide.

I also have a question about the following sentence:

She must sometimes have wanted to run away. This seems to me logical deduction, let me explain: ‘She was so unhappily married, that she sometimes wanted to run away.’

Thanks

2

Hi Marc,

It sounds better to put the adverb between the auxiliary and the main verb as in: I have never understood. When there are two, it is best to put the auxiliary between the two as in: I would never have understood. The point of the positioning is to insert the adverb within the auxiliary before the tense is fully expressed . That’s why ‘would have never’ doesn’t work. In your last sentence the position of the adverb follows the same point I have made above.

Alan
Alan