I really am vs I am really
Hello, I have a discussion with someone, she says that you must say "This is what I am really" beacuse she was teached that you must write "Subject + to be + adverb + complements".

I know that you can and should indeed write "This is who I really am", I can think of the example of "I'm really sorry" against "I am really sorry", although these two are slightly different, and actually, "I found that this is who I am really" sounds very strange for me...

The problem is that I haven't found a rule or point in the grammar to formally explain why you should write "This is who I really am"

Could anyone help me with this?I meant "I'm sorry" and "I really am sorry"

Question

I really am vs I am really
Hello, I have a discussion with someone, she says that you must say "This is what I am really" beacuse she was teached that you must write "Subject + to be + adverb + complements".

I know that you can and should indeed write "This is who I really am", I can think of the example of "I'm really sorry" against "I am really sorry", although these two are slightly different, and actually, "I found that this is who I am really" sounds very strange for me...

The problem is that I haven't found a rule or point in the grammar to formally explain why you should write "This is who I really am"

Could anyone help me with this?I meant "I'm sorry" and "I really am sorry"

Answer

I'm not sure if there's a rule per se, but the placement changes the emphasis. Let's take a sample sentence like "I am hungry". If you want to emphasize being hungry you would say "I am really hungry". If, however, you want to emphasize that you truly are hungry and aren't/weren't lying, then you would say "I really am hungry". A less common way to do the same thing would be to put the "really" at the very end of the sentence, but with a slight pause before it; "I am hungry, really". This is more colloquial though and looks strange written down.

Your particular example is a strange one in which both would imply essentially the same thing, but you're right. Yours is more common.

Answer

You can almost put  it anywhere you like and still be correct.

Really this is what I am.
This really is what I am.
This is really what I am.
This is what I really am.
This is what I am really.

All correct!

Answer

Sometimes that sounds better is the answer, it's not a rule, it's just common sense.  bytheway why do you say that i'm really sorry and i am really sorry are different? It is exactly the same

Answer

Se podria decir que really se usa para agregar valor o enfatisar el sig de la oracion

Answer

Alfredo:

Your acquaintance   seems to be inventing a rule.

One complication of it  is that the use of such expressions   also depends upon what exactly you are communicating.  What you are dealing with are identity statements. The simplest of which are like this:

I am.  You are.  They are.  We are.

Identity statements can be more elaborate.  "I am happy".    "I am  employed."
"I am studying".   "I am angry."

Modifiers  like REALLY are not a necessity.  They can be used to supply some emphasis, but emphasis is not a necessity.  I can say:  "I am answering your question."  or "I am really answering your question."   REALLY does not add much to the information you see?

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