Friday, March 30, 2018

word order - Auxiliary verb and adverb ordering



(I'm not really sure if the title is a correct definition of my problem at all)



I'm not a native English speaker, and I'm used to say:




Spaghetti suddenly can talk





But I've seen a phrase from a native speaker




Spaghetti can suddenly talk




I don't want to rush to conclusions based on one example, so please tell me what's the correct way to say such sentences and how incorrect is the other way (informal or maybe rough error)?


Answer



Ignoring the fact that nobody would suggest that spaghetti can talk, suddenly or not, the phrases





Suddenly spaghetti can talk.




and




Spaghetti suddenly can talk.





mean that there is a sudden change after which spaghetti are able to talk. By contrast the natural meaning of




Spaghetti can talk suddenly.




should mean that spaghetti are able to talk in a sudden manner.



The most common form





Spaghetti can suddenly talk.




is slightly ambiguous between the two, but probably is usually intended to take the former meaning.



The four phrases are correct, though the most common is also most ambiguous.


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