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Which of these is right?

  1. I like to play with my dog a lot.
  2. I like a lot to play with my dog.
  3. I like to play a lot with my dog.
  4. Any of the above.

I mean, where does a lot go in there? I searched but didn’t find the answer.

tchrist
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darkchampionz
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  • possible duplicate of Are there any rules on the positioning adverbs should take in a sentence? – tchrist Sep 03 '14 at 02:21
  • @tchrist I think the name of that question should be changed, since the question and its answers are specific to a certain circumstance. The broadest it gets is the highest voted answer, but even that only deals with sentences in which there is only one possible verb for the adverb to modify. – Daniel Sep 03 '14 at 02:25
  • @Daniel I had some misgivings about choosing that particular question as canonical. There are many in the Related box that are really the same question, some with better answers than others. I ended up choosing the question with the highest closed-as-dupe-of-this count. – tchrist Sep 03 '14 at 02:32
  • @tchrist Paging through those questions, I believe they are all duplicates (in some wise) of Should an adverb go before or after a verb?, to which the answer is consistently it makes no real difference. None of them (that I see) addresses a sentence wherein the placement of the adverb does change the meaning of the sentence. – Daniel Sep 03 '14 at 02:43
  • @Daniel Thanks for taking the time to sort through that. I agree with your analysis and will retract my close vote. – tchrist Sep 03 '14 at 02:47

2 Answers2

2

The meaning of the sentence differs depending where you put a lot. A lot can refer to the measure of your enjoyment in playing with your dog, or to the amount of play that you enjoy.

1) I like to play a lot with my dog.

This means that you like lots of play with your dog, since a lot modifies the verb play.

2) *I like a lot to play with my dog.

This is not something a fluent speaker of English would say. It seems like the logical way to make a lot modify like, but there aren't very many cases where an adverb (like a lot) can be placed between the verb like and an infinitive (e.g. to play), and this case is not one of them. If a native speaker needs to be specific that a lot modifies like, he would probably say:

3) I like it a lot when I play with my dog.

Most likely, though, a native speaker will not be strictly specific about what a lot modifies, and simply emphasize the entire sentence by putting it at the end:

4) I like to play with my dog a lot.

Though here, a lot could be interpreted either way. Since it's more usual to talk about liking something a lot than liking a lot of something, it will probably be interpreted that way (like sentence 3) without more context.

Daniel
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-1

No 1 is the finest kind, mate, but the others just aren't cromulent, eh?

"A lot" is used to apply emphasis to an entire phrase, and always seems to appear at the end of it.

Mari-Lou A
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JenSCDC
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