Placement of adverb

Question

I notice in the phrase 'était apparue gracieusement sur cet étrange engin' the adverb is placed after the participle, not the conjugated verb. Am I right in thinking adverbs normally go directly after the conjugated verb ?

Accepted Answer

Tom, there are exceptions and although the lesson attached doesn't specifically cover 'gracieusement', I think it fits under adverbs ending in -ment, and relating to 'manner', being placed after the compound verb for emphasis.

Position of French Adverbs - with compound tenses

Answer

Hi Tom,

"she was made of glitter, appeared gracefully on this strange contraption" (plus-que-parfait apparaître -- Elle était apparue)

"She appeared gracefully" Is it not the case that "gracefully" is modifying "appeared" ?

This is how it reads to me -- hope it helps?

Jim