She acted as though she was subtle. Then:
1 She never was subtle 2 She was never subtle
The first one sounds right to me although the second one seems to be the grammatically correct one? Or are both grammatically correct?
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If you consider "never" as modifying "was" it should go before "was"; if it's modifying "subtle" it should go immediately before "subtle". With most verbs you would say the former e.g. "She never appeared subtle", but it's very possible to have "never subtle" as an adjectival expression following "was". – Stuart F Apr 14 '21 at 09:51
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Does this answer your question? Are there any rules on the positioning of adverbs n a sentence? There is also a question actually addressing the distribution of 'never' (ie where it occurs in a sentence). 'Never' can never 'modify' subtle in such a sentence; rather, positioning it before 'was' switches the emphasis in the sentence. Here, the first variant is not the natural choice (though perfectly grammatical), and although adding gravitas, isn't my choice. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 14 '21 at 09:57
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So which one is right in this case? The first one or the second one? – Guest Apr 14 '21 at 10:01
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1Shouldn't it be as though she were* subtle*, though? – user405662 Apr 14 '21 at 10:21
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why would it be were? – Guest Apr 14 '21 at 10:31
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1Because of the subjunctive mood, eh? – user405662 Apr 14 '21 at 10:43
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It's increasingly rare to use the subjunctive in informal writing or speech. – Stuart F Apr 14 '21 at 15:23