At which positions in a sentence can an adverb be placed?

[philipp]

Hi!

I’m trying to figure out on which positions an adverb can be placed in English sentences. In another forum people told me that in the following sentence I can place the adverb “easily” in the following positions:

- Some titles describe what can easily be seen in a painting.
- Some titles describe what can be easily seen in a painting.
- Some titles describe what can be seen easily in a painting.
- Some titles describe what can be seen in a painting easily.

But not in this:
- Some titles describe what easily can be seen in a painting.

Can anyone please tell me, why only the last sentence is grammatically incorrect?
Has this something to do with the rule: “Do Not Place An Adverb Between A Verb And Its Object”?

Thanks!

[Alan]

The first is the most natural: an adverb of manner such as 'easily' typically stands in between a modal (can) and its infinitive (be). It does not precede a modal, hence the incorrectness of your final sentence.