I’m not quite sure which one is correct or better.
a) something is definitely going on
b) something definitely is going on
Thank you!!
Being a native English speaker, I would typically say “something is definitely going on”.
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I still haven’t seen this movie… yet, so I can’t comment about this scene without hearing what is actually being said.
But it appears to be just a pause in thinking. You start to say one thing, “Something is going on,” but then in mid-sentence, you rephrase that thought with a word like ‘definitely’ for emphasis, “Something definitely is going on,” so it comes out, “Something is… definitely is going on.” There is definitely something going on here, but I’m not sure what it is.
In any case, either is fine. You can say “Something is definitely going on” or “Something definitely is going on.” It’s really just a difference in when you emphasize the adverb ‘definitely.’ You can also add the word as an afterthought: “Something is going on. [pause] Definitely.”
As a side note:
In English we generally add the -ly ending to an adjective to make it an adverb.
He has a definite problem. (adjective)
He definitely has a problem. (adverb)
By contrast, in Dutch there is no real distinction between adjectives and adverbs. It is the same word.
Hij heeft een duidelijk probleem. (He has a definite problem.)
Hij heeft duidelijk een probleem. (He definitely has a problem.)
(In Dutch there is sometimes a change to the ending of the adjective, depending on both the type of article and the type of noun with which the adjective is used, but I won’t get into that distinction right now.)
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Thank you very much, brucenator. I got your point.
So it’s not like “I am always on time.” A be verb comes before an adverb, right?!
lilyyang,
That is a simple question to a more complex answer.
It is okay to say, as a general rule, that the adverb follows the verb in a sentence like “I am always on time.”
But the actual answer is no, there is no hard and fast rule in English grammar that dictates whether an adverb must follow a ‘be’ verb. The grammar attempts to describe the language as it is spoken or written by native speakers, which is why it is so complicated and often has exceptions or seeming contradictions.
An adverb modifies a verb. That is about the only definitive thing we can say.
Adverbs may occur before or after the verb. It depends. The word order and emphasis can change the tone of the sentence.
Here are just a couple of examples:
How come you’re never on time?
What do you mean? I’m always on time!
Well, I need you to start getting here ten minutes before the shift begins.
Then why don’t you make the start time 7:50 instead of 8:00? Why should I show up ten minutes early for work every day?
(Here, the emphasis is on ‘always’ versus ‘never.’)
The boss says he wants us to start coming to work on time.
What are you talking about? I always am on time.
Well, he says he wants everyone to start getting here ten minutes before the shift begins.
That’s nonsense. Is he going to start paying us for the extra ten minutes every day?
(Here, the emphasis is on the fact that I am consistently on time.)
“I always am” also exists as a stand-alone sentence:
I’m proud of you. I always am.
Just do a Twitter Search of “I always am” and you’ll find lots of examples.
‘Always’ and ‘never’ are very troublesome concepts in any language because, namely when it comes to human behavior, it proves to be untrue. More like ‘almost always’ or ‘rarely ever.’ I’m almost always on time. I’m rarely ever late. If you want to start trouble, tell someone that they ‘always’ do this or ‘never’ do that.
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I know what you mean. Thank you so much for telling me what the real English is instead of what I’ve learned from books. English is difficult, so is life.