Posición: adverbios de modo

1. She danced beautifully. He gave her the money reluctantly; They speak English well. She carefully picked up all the bits of broken glass; he angrily denied that he had stolen the documents; They secretly decided to leave the town.

[Los adverbios de modo van DESPUÉS DEL VERBO. En las frases con » ‘verbo + objeto’ » la longitud del objeto afecta a la posición del adverbio. Si el objeto es corto, el orden será: » ‘verbo + objeto + ADVERBIO’ «; si el objeto es largo, el adverbio se coloca ANTES DEL VERBO («She carefully picked up all the bits of broken glass»).]

2 He looked suspiciously at me; He looked at me suspiciously. He looked suspiciously at everyone who got off the plane.

[Si en la oración hay un grupo » ‘verbo + preposición + objeto’ «, el adverbio se coloca ANTES DE LA PREPOSICIÓN ó DESPUÉS DEL OBJETO. Si el objeto consta de varias palabras, el adverbio se coloca siempre ANTES DE LA PREPOSICIÓN.]

3. They secretly decided to leave the town (The decision was secret); They decided to leave the town secretly (the departure was to be secret).

[Si el adverbio se coloca a continuación de una cláusula o frase, se considera que modifica al verbo de esa cláusula o frase.]

4. I foolishly forgot my passport («It was foolish of me to forget»); He kindly waited for me («It was kind of him to wait»); Would you kindly wait? («Would you be kind enough to wait?»); he generously paid for us all. He spoke kindly; He paid us generously. He foolishly answered the questions; he answered the questions foolishly.

[Los adverbios relacionados con el CARACTER o la INTELIGENCIA, «foolishly,» «stupidly,» «kindly,» «generously» etc., cuando se colocan ANTES DEL VERBO indican que la acción fue como el adverbio expresa. El adverbio puede colocarse también DESPUÉS del verbo o después del grupo » ‘verbo + objeto’ «, pero entonces el significado cambia.]

5. He behaved badly; He read well. He paid her badly; She speaks French well; She was badly paid; The trip was well organized. The door needs a coat of paint badly; the door badly needs a coat of paint; He was badly injured in the last match. He knows the town well; Shake the bottle well. The children were well wrapped up; I’d like the steak well done.You know well that I can’t drive. You know that I can’t drive well. He may well refuse (= «It’s quite likely that he will refuse.»)

[«badly» y «well» pueden usarse como adverbios de modo o como adverbios de grado. Como adverbios de modo van después de un verbo activo («He behaved badly»), después del objeto («He paid her badly») o antes del participio de pasado de un verbo pasivo («She was badly paid»). «badly» como adverbio de grado, significando «very much,» va o antes del verbo («The door badly needs a coat of paint») o el participio de pasado, o después del objeto («The door needs a coat of paint badly»). «well» adverbio de grado sigue las mismas reglas que «well» adverbio de modo. «well» colocado después de «may»/»might» o «could» enfatiza la probabilidad de la acción («He may well refuse.»)]

6. Somehow they managed; They managed somehow; They raised the money somehow.

[«somehow» («de una manera u otra») puede colocarse en posición inicial, después de un verbo sin objeto o después del objeto.]