Frequency Adverbs in less than 5 minutes

Frequency Adverbs in less than 5 minutes. In the video you have the explanations in English.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFjt0totZDg

FREQUENCY ADVERBS

There are two things you must know about these adverbs:

1. The MEANING you need
2. WHERE to place them in the sentence

ALWAYS 

ALWAYS – 100% OF THE TIME	without excepcion, all the time
Adam always sits at his desk.	Adam never sits anywhere else.

USUALLY 

USUALLY – 90% OF THE TIME	generally, regularly
We usually stand up during our meetings.	That is the most frequent thing to happen, but sometimes we sit down.

NORMALLY 

NORMALLY – 80 – 90% OF THE TIME	quite common, as a rule
Jenny normally wears a suit to work.	She uses the uniform on a daily basis for work.

OFTEN/FREQUENTLY 

OFTEN/FREQUENTLY – 70% OF THE TIME	many times, routinely
Philip frequently goes to bed early.	It is rare that Philip goes to bed late.

SOMETIMES 

SOMETIMES – 50% OF THE TIME	at times, periodically
Sometimes Jacob reads the newspaper and sometimes he reads novels.	He reads the newspaper and novels with the same frequency.

OCCASIONALLY 

OCCASIONALLY – 40% OF THE TIME	from time to time, not so often
Ann only eats meat occasionally.	She usually doesn’t eat meat.

SELDOM 

SELDOM – 20% OF THE TIME	sporadically, (once) in a while
He seldom gets enough breaks at work.	He barely stops working.

HARDLY EVER/RARELY 

HARDLY (EVER) / RARELY – 5 – 10% OF THE TIME	scarcely, infrequently
He rarely gets to work on time.	He usually gets late to work.

NEVER 

NEVER – 0% OF THE TIME	at no time, under/in no circumstances
Ethan never wants to go to school.	Ethan dislikes school and doesn’t want to go.

Let’s review

• Always – 100%
• Usually – 90%
• Normally – 80%
• Often – 70%
• Frequently – 70%
• Sometimes – 50%
• Occasionally – 20%
• Hardly ever – 5%
• Rarely – 5%
• Never – 0%

How to use Frequency Adverbs?

• You can place them at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a sentence.

BEGINNING/END

• The Frequency Adverbs you can use at the beginning or at the end of the sentence are:
  • Usually,
  • Normally,
  • Frequently,
  • Often,
  • Sometimes,
  • Occasionally

Sometimes Lucy plays basketball at school.	Lucy plays basketball at school sometimes.
Occasionally John gets to the office at 10 am.	John gets to the office at 10 am occasionally.
Do you often talk to your family?	Do you talk to your family often?

NOTICE THAT!

• We also use Frequency Adverbs with inversions.

Never have I been so offended!	Never (before) have I met someone so interesting.
Rarely have I seen a better film.	Hardly had everybody taken their seat when the lecture began.

IN THE MIDDLE

• Most of Frequency Adverbs are placed in the middle of the sentence.
• They are placed BEFORE the main Verb or AFTER Verb ‘to be’.

They usually watch some TV at night before going to bed.	They are normally in bed watching TV at night.
She always wakes up early on Sundays.	He is often late for work.
She never eats fruit.	They are never unhappy to help.
She has never eaten fruit.	My parents are occasionally out of town.

QUESTIONS

• We use ‘How often…?’ to ask about the frequency of something.

How often does she run?	How often do you do the laundry?
How often do they go swimming?	How often do they go to the movies?

Adverbial Phrases of Frequency 

• If you want to answer with an Adverbial Phrase of Frequency (twice a week, once a month, every night,…), you have to put it at the end of the sentence.

She runs three times a week.	We have a meeting every afternoon.
They go swimming every weekend.	She visits the dentist twice a year.

• Examples:

Once a week	Every two weeks
Twice a week	Once a month
Three times a month	Every couple of months
Four times a year	Twice a year
Every year	Every week
Every other weekend	Once a day
a fortnight	Every 15 days

Common mistakes

He hardly ever is home on time.	He is hardly ever home on time.	Adverb AFTER Verb ‘to be’.
Always they go to a restaurant on Fridays.	They always go to a restaurant on Fridays.	Adverb BEFORE main Verb.
Carol goes how often to the gym?	How often does Carol go to the gym?	How often + main question + ?
He never has been nice to me.	He has never been nice to me.	Adverb BEFORE main Verb.
I don’t never go to the movie theater.	I never go to the movie theatre.	Adverb BEFORE main Verb.
I go every day to school.	I go to school every day.	Adverbial phrase AT THE END of the sentence.

English Grammar

Now that you have seen ‘Frequency Adverbs in less than 5 minutes’,take a look at our other English Grammar posts:

Grammar Video: Embedded questions in less than 5 minutes
Grammar Video: A, an, the or no article in less than 5 minutes