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I am looking into adverb order in sentences and came across the following one;

There are things in this world which simply cannot be expressed in the form of words.

I think the above should better be like;

There are things in this world which cannot simply be expressed in the form of words.

I wonder if the later is grammatically correct.

Google-ngram gives the following trends; source enter image description here

Are both the positions of the adverb simply fine, or only one of them is correct?

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We can put adverbs and adverb phrases at the front, in the middle or at the end of a clause. [Resource from here]

The front position of the clause is the first item in the clause:

Suddenly I felt afraid.

Yesterday detectives arrested a man and a woman in connection with the murder.

The end position of the clause is the last item in the clause:

Why do you always have to eat so fast?

The mid position is between the subject and the main verb:

Apples always taste best when you pick them straight off the tree.

Where there is more than one verb, mid position means after the first auxiliary verb or after a modal verb:

The government has occasionally been forced to change its mind. (after the first auxiliary verb)

You can definitely never predict what will happen. (after a modal verb)

We mightn’t ever have met. (after the modal verb and before the auxiliary verb)

In questions, the mid position is between the subject and the main verb:

Do you ever think about living there?

Adverbs usually come after the main verb be, except in emphatic clauses:

She’s always late for everything.

When be is emphasized, the adverb comes before the verb:

Why should I have gone to see Madonna? I never was a fan of hers. (emphatic)

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  • So, “can not simply be” is correct; but can't “simply can not be” be used to emphasize on "can" more than on "be"? I. O. W., can “simply can not be” never be correct-order? Dec 17, 2018 at 5:37

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