Grammar Tips Where do adverbs go? At the beginning of a sentence:
· To situate the reader in time, place, and importance Yesterday I played soccer. In 2001, I graduated from high school. In 1917, in the Halifax Narrows, two ships collided causing a tremendous explosion. Because of the explosion, thousands of people were left homeless.
· To be dramatic Slowly she opened the door. Carefully he defused the bomb. Never have I seen such an interesting movie. In the middle of a sentence:
· When it is neutral I do not know who he is. She slowly opened the door. He carefully defused the bomb. I have never seen such an interesting movie. At the end of a sentence:
· When it is the most important information in a sentence: She opened the door slowly. He held the baby carefully. Two ships collided causing a tremendous explosion in the Halifax Narrows, in 1917. →Note!!! You may have noticed in the sentences that sometimes a comma was put after the introductory adverb phrase and sometimes not. A comma is only necessary when there is a chance the reader might get confused. On the train, tracks of mud could be seen in every car. On the train tracks was a dead moose. [See Special Types of Adverbs for the explanation of this inverted subject verb order.]