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I wonder

 
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Chan-Seung Lee



Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 1032
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 4:35 am    Post subject: I wonder Reply with quote
Quote:
ex1)A: Have you finished reading this paper? B: Yes, I already have.
ex2)People from different cultures sometimes don't understand why Americans give so many compliments.


I wonder why in the example1 'already have' is used instead of 'have already' and in the example2 'sometimes don't' is used instead of 'don't sometimes'.
Are the examples above correct? If so, can you explain it grammatically?

Thanks.
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KazAV



Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Posts: 151
Location: Brit in Bonn, Germany
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 5:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Adverbs of frequency (such as these) usually sound better taking place between the subject and the verb.
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Chan-Seung Lee



Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 1032
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 8:14 am    Post subject: I still wonder. Reply with quote
How about 'I have already done it.' in comparison with 'example1'?How about 'I can sometimes eat a raw fish.' in comparison with 'example2'?


Thanks.
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KazAV



Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Posts: 151
Location: Brit in Bonn, Germany
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
In those cases, the adverb comes after the modal or auxiliary verb and before the main verb. It sounds more natural the ways I have told you.
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Chan-Seung Lee



Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 1032
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 10:26 pm    Post subject: ONE MORE TIME Reply with quote
Quote:
ex1)I love you. And I always will.
ex2)I love you. And I will always.


In the above, which one is correct?

Thanks.
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LucentShade



Joined: 30 Dec 2003
Posts: 542
Location: Nebraska, USA
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 10:35 pm    Post subject: Re: ONE MORE TIME Reply with quote
Chan-Seung Lee wrote:
Quote:
ex1)I love you. And I always will.
ex2)I love you. And I will always.


In the above, which one is correct?

Thanks.


Ex1 is more natural and you're more likely to hear it in conversations, TV shows, or movies. Ex2 is grammatically fine, but less common.

Going back to the first post, I believe it's more common to use the order of [adverb] [verb or modal] at the end of a sentence. It would be natural to say, "I have already finished reading the newspaper," since there is more in the sentence after "already."
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