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539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms

Adjuncts | 583

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Mid-position adjuncts can sometimes occur after a modal verb followed by an

auxiliary verb, or after a second auxiliary verb (instead of the more normal

position after the first one). This is common in spoken language when the second

verb is contracted:

I think she 

would’ve

probably married him.

They 

might’ve

actually had to alter the text. I don’t know.

[the AA is the Automobile Association, a club for motorists]

She’s been working for the AA since she left school, she

’s been

just working,

she loves it.

Mid position and clause type

325b

In interrogative clauses, mid-position adjuncts follow the subject:

Did 

you

seriously think about ringing up Gwen? 

(Did seriously you think …?)

In emphatic and negative imperatives, the adjunct usually comes between

do/don’t

and the verb:

Do 

always

remember

that we only have one opportunity to clinch it.

Don’t 

just

say

‘I’m going to include that’ unless you can justify it.