Position Adjectives And Adverbs Correctly

Adjectives and adverbs can appear in incorrect positions in written expression questions on the TOEFL test. There are two common errors of this type that you should be aware of: (1) the position of adjectives with the nouns they describe, and (2) the position of adverbs with objects.

In English it is correct to place a one-word adjective in front of the noun it describes. On the TOEFL test, however, an incorrect sentence might have an adjective after the noun it describes.

Incorrect Example:

• The information important is on the first page.*

Explanation: In this example, the adjective important should come before the noun information because important describes information.

A second problem you should be aware of is the position of adverbs with objects of verbs. When a verb has an object, an adverb describing the verb should not come between the verb and its object.

Incorrect Example:

• He has taken recently an English course.*

Explanation: This example is incorrect because the adverb recently comes between the verb has taken and its object an English course. There are many possible corrections for this sentence.

• Recently he has taken an English course.
• He has recently taken an English course.
• He has taken an English course recently.

You can see from these examples that there are many possible correct positions for the adverb. What is important for you to remember is that an adverb that describes a verb cannot come between the verb and its object.

The following chart outlines the key points that you should remember about the position of adjectives and adverbs:

THE POSITION OF ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

• ADJECTIVES: A one-word adjective comes before the noun it describes. It does not come directly after.
• ADVERBS: An adverb can appear in many positions. It cannot be used between a verb and its object