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Mid position and be, do and have

325c

It is necessary to distinguish between the auxiliary uses of be, do, and have and

their uses as lexical verbs with regard to the placing of adjunct elements in mid

position (see the table below).

When be, do and have are used as auxiliaries, the adjunct is placed in mid

position, after the auxiliary.

When be is a lexical verb, the adjunct is placed after the verb.

When do and have are lexical verbs, the adjunct is placed in mid position

between subject and verb.

Positions of be, do and have as auxiliaries and as lexical verbs

as auxiliary 

as lexical verb

be

I

’m

often

accused

of being too strict.

He

’s 

often in a bad mood.

do

We 

don’t 

usually

get

back here till about 

I 

always

do

it because I want to make sure 

one o’clock.

they’ve got what they want.

have

You

’ve 

hardly

eaten

anything. 

We 

usually

have

tea for breakfast and coffee

later.

Mid position in tags and reduced clauses 

325d

In speech, when modal and auxiliary verbs and lexical verb be are used in tags or

in reduced clauses, the adjunct typically comes before the modal/auxiliary/be:

A: I hope they’ll disappear.

B: I think they probably

will

.

584 | Adjuncts

Cambridge Grammar of English

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A: Do you celebrate the New Year too?

B: Yeah we usually

do

.

I’m not unhappy. I 

never

have been

.

(preferred to: I’ve never been.)

A: It’s not the same.

B: No it never

is

. 

(preferred to: No it’s never.)

I thought it was glass. 

Probably

is

. 

(ellipsis of subject: It probably is.)

However, extra emphasis can be placed on the adjunct by placing it after the

modal/auxiliary:

A: Does the bus stop there? 

B: Well it 

doesn’t 

usually but you could ask him to. 

I was worried I was going to lose the money and I 

did 

almost. 

In informal speech an adjunct belonging to the main clause may occasionally

follow the tag, almost as an afterthought:

We won’t rush dear, will we 

tomorrow? 

Spanish is more widely used, isn’t it, 

outside of Europe?

MANNER, PLACE AND TIME 

326

Positions

326a

Most frequently, manner, place and time adjuncts are used in end or front

position. End position is considered the most neutral (unmarked) position, but

front position is also frequent, and a little more emphatic: