情状副词透露某件事是如何发生的，一般会放在主要动词或受词后。
举例
- He swims well.
- He ran quickly.
- She spoke softly.
- James coughed loudly to attract her attention.
- He plays the flute beautifully.（在直接受词后）
- He ate the chocolate cake greedily.（在直接受词后）
情状副词并不能放在动词和直接受词之间，必须放在动词前或句尾。
举例
- He ate greedily the chocolate cake. [不正确]
- He ate the chocolate cake greedily. [正确]
- He greedily ate the chocolate cake. [正确]
- He gave us generously the money. [不正确]
- He gave us the money generously. [正确]
- He generously gave us the money. [正确]
如果动词的受格前有个介词，就要将情状副词放在介词前或受词后。
举例
- The child ran happily towards his mother.
- The child ran towards his mother happily.
如果动词没有受词（不及物动词），情状副词就一律应紧接在动词之后。
举例
- The town grew quickly after 1997.
- He waited patiently for his mother to arrive.
这些常见的情状副词 well丶badly丶hard丶fast 几乎都是紧接在动词后。
举例
- He swam well despite being tired.
- The rain fell hard during the storm.
当句中有多个动词，副词的位置就会变得很重要。如果副词放在主要动词前或后，就只会修饰那个动词。如果副词放在语句后，则会修饰该语句描述的整个动作。从以下例句中，您会发现意思的差异。
| 例句 | 意思 |
|---|---|
| She quickly agreed to re-type the letter. | 迅速地同意 |
| She agreed quickly to re-type the letter. | 迅速地同意 |
| She agreed to re-type the letter quickly. | 迅速地重新打 |
| He quietly asked me to leave the house. | 安静地询问 |
| He asked me quietly to leave the house. | 安静地询问 |
| He asked me to leave the house quietly. | 安静地离开 |
文学上的用法
有时候情状副词会放在动词 + 受词之前，增添强调的意味。
举例
- He gently woke the sleeping woman.
- She angrily slammed the door.
有些作家会把情状副词放在句首，引起我们的注意或好奇。
举例
- Slowly she picked up the knife.
- Roughly he grabbed her arm.