Dangling or Misplaced Modifiers: the use of adverbs

Solution 1:

The sentences

(1) I scarcely earn fifty dollars a week.

and

(2) I earn scarcely fifty dollars a week.

both sound correct to me, but with slightly different emphases. In sentence (1), scarcely modifies earn, whereas in sentence (2), scarcely modifies fifty. That said, one might argue that it is syntactically ambiguous and scarcely can be analyzed to modify either word.

In this particular sentence, the difference is not very noticeable, but we can construct sentences with the same structure where the difference is more obvious:

I almost like half of those people. (50% of the people are people who I almost like.)

I like almost half of those people. (Slightly less than 50% of the people are people who I like.)

Solution 2:

I scarcely earn fifty dollars a week.

This sentence sounds more natural. Here, the adverb "scarcely" is modifying the verb "earn".

However, the second sentence is also correct. Try replacing "scarcely" with "merely" and you will get your answer.

I merely earn fifty dollars a week.

I earn merely fifty dollars a week.

Here, both the sentences seem absolutely perfect. A modifier should be placed closest possible to the the clause, or verb or anything which it modifies.

Solution 3:

Either is grammatically correct. Adverbs can be placed in different positions in a sentence.