Question I've seen John a lot recently etc...

[hirashin]

Dear native English speakers,
do native speakers ever use these sentences? Which is common?
(a) I've seen John a lot recently.
(b) I've seen John often recently.
(c) I've often seen John recently.
(d) I've seen a lot of John recently.

 

[timaki]

I would say choice (a) is best. The "often recently" pairing in choice (b) does not sound natural. Choice (d) makes it sound like you hate John, and have no desire to see him any more.

 

[hirashin]

Thanks for the help, timaki. You say the "often recently" pairing does not sound natural. Then how about these?
(a'') Recently I've seen John a lot.
(b') Recently I've seen John often.
(c') Recently I've often seen John.
(d') Recently I've seen a lot of John.

 

[timaki]

Choice a' sounds the best, although choice b' is not too bad. Choice c' still sounds a bit off, although I think it is fine structurally. Choice d' can still carry that negative feeling of not wanting to see John anymore.

 

[mdchachi]

Choice a' sounds the best, although choice b' is not too bad. Choice c' still sounds a bit off, although I think it is fine structurally. Choice d' can still carry that negative feeling of not wanting to see John anymore.

The negative feeling can be counteracted thus:

Recently I've seen a lot of John.