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He decided to quickly leave the house.

I believe it was the split infinitive that was the concern. I was taking a verbal aptitude test, and the correct answer was "He decided to leave the house quickly". I suppose that it was because of the split infinitive that this sentence is prescriptively bad.

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    Welcome! Can you edit your question to say more about what concerns you? I think perhaps you're word about a "split infinitive", but most people today agree that this is not a problem.
    – Andy Bonner
    Jan 28, 2022 at 20:48
  • @AndyBonner Yes, I believe it was the split infinitive that was the concern. I was taking a verbal aptitude test, and the correct answer was "He decided to leave the house quickly". I suppose that it was because of the split infinitive that this sentence is prescriptively bad. And thank you for your kind welcome :)
    – mewtwo1234
    Jan 28, 2022 at 21:09
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    Thanks! Please, instead of just adding a comment, use the "edit" link below the question to add your information to it so it's easier for future people to answer. And yeah, most sources these days would say that splitting infinitives is not wrong. There's a lot more info here, especially in the "History of the Controversy" section.
    – Andy Bonner
    Jan 28, 2022 at 21:12
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    Also, see the difficulties that can come with avoiding split infinitives. But meanwhile, it's also true that, for this example, the construction "sounds odd" and is un-idiomatic, and shifting "quickly" to come after "the house" wouldn't cause confusion.
    – Andy Bonner
    Jan 28, 2022 at 21:19

1 Answer 1

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We can put adverbs and adverb phrases at the front, in the middle, or at the end of a clause. Different types of adverbs go in different places.

'Quickly' is adverb of Manner. Adverbs of manner usually come in end position:

He played brilliantly.

She ate quickly.

He decided to leave the house quickly.

They sometimes go in mid-position if the adverb is not the most important part of the clause or if the object is very long.

She quickly ate her dinner and ran out.

If the verb has an object, the adverb comes after the object:

We made a decision quickly then left.

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