already has gone VS has already gone etc...

hirashin

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8 Apr 2004

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• 6 Oct 2018

• #1

Dear native English speakers,
could both sentences in each set be used?
(1A) Mike has already gone back to Britain. [I think this is more common]
(1B) Mike already has gone back to Britain.

(2A) I have never been to China. [I think this is more common]
(2B) I never have been to China.

(3A) He is no longer a professional player. [I think this is more common]
(3B) He no longer is a professional player.

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin

 

mdchachi

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• 6 Oct 2018

• #2

I guess they could all be used but 1B and 2B sounds wrong to me. 3B sounds possible. But 1A, 2A and 3A all sound natural.

 

diligentcircle

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• 6 Oct 2018

• #3

1B and 2B are valid in certain contexts; in those contexts (as well as 3B), "has" or "have" or "is" is spoken with an upward intonation. The usage is varied and depends on the word before, but in general it serves to emphasize the positive/negative in a sense.

For example:

When is Mike going back to Britain?
He already has gone back. He left last week.

Wouldn't it be nice to go to China one of these days?
You know, I never have gone to China, come to think of it. I probably should at some point.

John Doe is my favorite professional baseball player! I wonder why I didn't see him at the game yesterday?
He no longer is a professional player. He retired earlier this month.

 

Buntaro

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• 6 Oct 2018

• #4

Hirashin,

Please remember this rule: when a word is out of order, that word is emphasized.

(1A) Mike has already gone back to Britain.
This is the normal, correct word order.

(1B) Mike already has gone back to Britain.
The word "already" is out of order and is emphasized. (And this example sounds a little strange.)

(2A) I have never been to China.
This is the normal, correct word order.

(2B) I never have been to China.
This is a mistake.

(3A) He is no longer a professional player.
This is the normal, correct word order.

(3B) He no longer is a professional player.
The phrase "no longer" is out of order and is emphasized. (And this example sounds a little strange.)

Consider this example:
"No longer is he a professional player." The phrase "no longer" is out of order and is emphasized. (This example sounds like poetry.)

 

hirashin

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• #5

Thanks for the help, mdchachi, Juli, and Buntaro.
Buntaro, what do you think of the examples Julie gave?

 

Buntaro

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• 7 Oct 2018

• #6

hirashin said:

Buntaro, what do you think of the examples Julie gave?

Click to expand...

They are correct. But I strongly advise you not to teach such out-of-order sentences.

At this stage of their English development I think your students need to concentrate on sentences that only contain standard, normal, correct word order. ( <-- This sentence is an example of an out-of-order sentence! It emphasizes the phrase "at this stage of their English development" by placing the phrase at the beginning of the sentence.)

 

hirashin

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• #7

Thanks, Buntaro. You are right in the case of teaching at junior high school. But high school students have to read more advanced sentences native speakers write. When they read their textbooks, they notice some irregular sentences. That's why we have to explain irregular word order as well.

 

diligentcircle

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21 Jun 2017

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• 7 Oct 2018

• #8

I'm not so sure about the use of the word "correct" to describe a word order that's neutral. Word order is an important tool for emphasizing things in English (alongside tone and some other things); calling a neutral ordering "correct" seems to sort of imply that the other orderings are nonstandard or colloquial, which typically isn't the case.