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Getting the structure right
10 Strategic positioning of the adverb
Read this statement:
Sempre martedƬ vado a un corso di salsa. The speaker unwittingly stressed the word sempre by placing it at the beginning of the sentence. If there is no need to highlight an adverb such as sempre (always), qualche volta (sometimes), di solito (usually), put it after the verb, like this:
| Il martedƬ vado sempre a un corso di salsa. | On Tuesdays I always go to a salsa class. |
| Il weekend vado di solito al cinema. | At the weekend I usually go to the cinema. |
You could emphasize di solito or qualche volta by placing them at the beginning of the sentence, but not sempre as it just doesnāt sound right in Italian (except in poetry!).
| Di solito il martedƬ vado a un corso di salsa. Qualche volta vado invece al cinema. | Usually, on Tuesdays I go to a salsa class. Sometimes I go to the cinema instead. |
Now consider this mistake:
Mi molto piace la primavera. The speaker has made a common mistake here by assuming that they can translate word for word from the English: I really like spring. But in Italian mi piace forms an āunsplittableā item that canāt be separated (not even in poetry!). The correct form is therefore:
Mi piace molto la primavera. The role of the adverb is to better define, or modify, a verb by adding various types of information to it:
| Mangio tanto. | I eat a lot. |
| Mangio bene. | I eat well. |
| Mangio tardi. | I eat late. |
| Mangio qui. | I eat here. |
| Mangio lentamente. | I eat slowly. |
Adverbs can also modify adjectives:
| Oggi sono molto stanco. | Today I am very tired. |
They can modify other adverbs:
| Parlava molto lentamente. | He spoke very slowly. |
Or modify an entire sentence:
| Forse andiamo a trovare mia zia domenica. | Perhaps weāll go to see my aunt on Sunday. |
The position of the adverb in the sentence depends on the particular role it plays. If it is to modify an adjective or another adverb, it will usually be placed before them, as illustrated above. If it is to modify the entire phrase, as illustrated by the sentences below, its position can vary, depending on the degree of emphasis we want to place on it:
| Forse andiamo a trovare mia zia domenica. | + |
| Andiamo forse a trovare mia zia domenica. | ++ |
| Andiamo a trovare mia zia domenica, forse. | +++ |
The position of the adverb in relation to the verb can also vary, depending on what we wish to highlight. If we place the adverb before the verb, we highlight it and give it more prominence. In the case of a compound verb, if we place an adverb in between, this will also serve to highlight it:
| Ho rapidamente afferrato le chiavi. | I quickly picked up the keys. |
11 Use and abuse...
