Is Your "Very Much" in the Wrong Place? Stop This Common Mistake!

If you have ever said, "I like very much this book" or "I very much enjoyed the movie," you are not alone. This is one of the most frequent mistakes made by English learners. While "very" and "much" are perfectly good English words, putting them in the middle of a sentence can make your English sound awkward.

The Rule: Where Should "Very Much" Go?

The most important thing to remember is that in English, we usually do not put extra words between the Action (Verb) and the Thing (Object).

For example, in the sentence "I like mangoes," the action is "like" and the thing is "mangoes."

 If you want to say how much you like them, you should almost always put "very much" at the very end of the sentence.

Common Errors vs. Correct English

Let’s look at some examples to see the difference:

❌ Incorrect: I like very much your new car.
✅ Correct: I like your new car very much.

❌ Incorrect: She appreciates very much your help.
✅ Correct: She appreciates your help very much.

❌ Incorrect: We want very much to visit London.
✅ Correct: We want to visit London very much.

Why Do We Make This Mistake?

Many of us make this mistake because of our mother tongue. In many Indian languages, it is natural to put the "how much" part right before the object. When we translate this directly into English, it sounds wrong to a native speaker. To sound more natural, imagine that "very much" is like the tail of a bird—it belongs at the back!

A Small Exception

Sometimes, you can use "very much" before a verb like "enjoy" or "appreciate," but it is much safer and more common to just put it at the end. For example, "I very much appreciate it" is okay, but "I appreciate it very much" is much more common in daily conversation.

Practice Exercise

Try to rewrite these four sentences correctly. This is a great way to improve your writing skills instantly.
  1. My brother likes very much playing football.
  2. I enjoyed very much the dinner last night.
  3. They love very much their old house.
  4. I want very much to learn English.
Write your answers in the comments section! We will check them and let you know if they are correct. Sharing your answers helps other readers learn too.

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