I'm working on a short story and every once in a while, I come to a point where a sentence can give me issues. Here's one of them. The fringed canopy lazily swayed. Or The fringed canopy swayed, lazily. Does one of them not work , is it a matter of good grammer , or creative difference?
Lazily swayed is an adjective. Swayed lazily is an adverb. Am I over thinking this? If I am, sorry. - Darkkin
Lazily is always an adverb, not an adjective. An adjective modifies a noun. An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. In English, adjectives usually precede the noun, but can appear in other places in the sentence: Adverbs can appear before or after the verb. Adverbs modifying an adjective or another adverb are typically placed before the word they modify.
yes, that... but many times, an adverb will not work or read well when placed before what it's modifying... such as in the sample, 'lazily swayed... 'swayed lazily' works/reads much better, imo... that said, placement will also depend on the sentence and context...
Placement may also depend on cultural and dialect issues. There's a construction I've come to regard as Irish, because I first found it in Joyce and since in the work of other Irish writers that works like this: He slammed the door loudly. (Normal for me) He loudly slammed the door. (Also normal for me) He slammed loudly the door. (Irish)
Verb before adverb feels more straightforward. Adverb before verb feels more poetic, which means it can end up being more purple.
