1.2.4: Adverbs of Frequency

Adapted from: Susan Caisse, Kristee Emens-Hesslink, & Jennifer Rueda Clackamas Community College via OpenOregon License: CC-BY-NC

Photo by Allyson Marceau

Adverbs of Frequency with the Simple Present

Adverbs of frequency let us talk about how often we do something.

Example

How often do you come to class? I always come to class!

How often do you shop at Fred’s? I often shop at Fred’s.

Study the chart below to learn the meanings of the following adverbs.

Adverb	Frequency
always	100%
usually	70-90%
often	50-60%
sometimes	30-40%
seldom/rarely	10-20%
never	0%

Adverbs of Frequency with the BE Verb

With the BE verb, the adverbs of frequency are added between BE and the rest of the sentence. You will see in the next section that this is different with other verbs.

subject + BE + adverb of frequency + rest of sentence

Subject	BE	Adverb of Frequency	Rest of Sentence
I	am	never	late.
He She It	is	always	on time.
You We They	are	sometimes	early.

Exceptions

Some adverbs of frequency can be put in different places in a sentence.

Sometimes can be placed in three places in a sentence:

• At the beginning:
  • Sometimes I am too tired to cook dinner after work.
• After the verb:
  • I am sometimes too tired to cook dinner after work.
• At the end:
  • I am too tired to cook dinner after work.I work on the weekends sometimes.

Usually can be put in two places in the sentence.

• At the beginning:
  • Usually I am very tired after work.
• After the verb:
  • I usually am very tired after work.

Activity 1: Fill-in-the-Blank

Directions: Complete the sentences with the correct form of the BE verb and the adverb of frequency .

Example

She (always) is always late.

1. Class (usually)____________ interesting.
2. They (often)____________ busy.
3. I (always)____________ friendly.
4. You (never)___________ hungry after lunch.
5. She (always)____________ hungry at 3:00 pm.
6. He (rarely)____________ on time for class.
7. They (sometimes)____________ confused in class.
8. You (often)____________ sleepy.

Adverbs of Frequency with Other Verbs

When we look at the sentences in Activity 3.9, we see that we are saying how often something happens. An adjective follows the adverb of frequency. Adverbs of frequency give more information about a person or a situation. For example, they show how often we are hungry, tired, late, busy, or on time.

But, what if we want to say how often we do some activity? In that case, we don’t use the BE verb. We use another verb, like eat, sleep, cook, drive, or talk.

Instead of adding the adverb of frequency after the verb, like we did with the BE verb, we add it before the verb. We do this because we are saying how often the activity of the verb happens.

subject + adverb of frequency + verb + rest of sentence

Subject	adverb of frequency	Verb	Rest of Sentence
I	always	eat	breakfast.
He She It	usually	does	homework in the evening.
You We They	never	walk	to school.

We use the adverb of frequency to talk about how often or how frequently something happens.

For questions, we often use “How often….?” to ask about the frequency of activities.

Examples:

1. How often do you go swimming? – I often go swimming in the morning.
2. How often does Amanda cook? – She usually cooks on weekdays.

How often do you eat breakfast? I always eat breakfast.

In the sentence above, we are saying how often we eat breakfast (always).

How often does he cook dinner? He usually cooks dinner.

In the sentence above, we are saying how often he cooks dinner. (usually).

How often do they walk to school? They never walk to school.

In the sentence above, we are saying how often they walk to school (never).

The adverbs “never” and “rarely” have a negative meaning, so do not use them with “do not” or “does not”

Examples:

1. I don’t never eat sushi. (incorrect) I never eat sushi. (correct)
2. She doesn't rarely go to bed after midnight. (incorrect) She rarely goes to bed after midnight. (correct)

Activity 2: Fill-in-the-Blank

Directions: Write the adverb of frequency and the verb in the correct form on the line.

Remember

When we use any verb except the BE verb, the adverb of frequency goes before the verb.

Example

Miho (always/get up) always gets up at 7:00 am.

1. I (never/eat) _____________ breakfast.
2. You (often/do) _____________ laundry on Saturdays.
3. He (usually/swim) ______________ on weekends.
4. She (never/sing) _____________ karaoke.
5. It (rarely/rain) _____________ in July.
6. They (seldom/watch) _______________movies.
7. We (always/do) _____________ our homework.
8. She (sometimes/make)______________ the bed.

Activity 3: Classmate Interview

Part 1 Directions: Ask your classmate the questions listed in the first column of the table. Your partner should use an adverb of frequency in their answer. Check (✔) the adverb of frequency they use.

How often do you…	always	usually	often	sometimes	seldom / rarely	never
wake up before 7:00 am?
eat breakfast?
fall asleep before 11:00 pm?
drive to work?
do laundry on the weekend?
eat dinner before 6:00 pm?
sleep in on Sundays?
go grocery shopping on the weekdays?
come to class on time?
do your homework before class?

Part 2 Directions: Choose 5 of the questions (and answers) from Part 1. On your own lined paper, use the answers to write sentences about your classmate’s activities. Remember to use adverbs of frequency. Turn this in to your teacher. Write your name, the date, and Activity 3.12 on the top of your paper.

Example

Yuri always does her homework before class.

Activity 4: Game

Directions:The purpose of this game is to practice using adverbs of frequency. Your teacher will give you some adverb of frequency game cards (often, sometimes, never).

• Stand up and find a partner.
• Ask your partner a question. Begin the sentence “How often…”
• The partner answers the question using an adverb of frequency .
• If your partner answers your question using the adverb of frequency that you have in your hand, give your partner the card.
• If your partner answers using an adverb of frequency that you don’t have, then change to another student and try again.
• You can only ask two questions before you need to change partners.
• You can only talk to the same person after you have talked with all your other classmates.
• Talk to as many partners as you can. When you have no more cards, sit down.

The goal of the game is to give away all of your cards.

Examples

Student 1: How often do you eat french fries for breakfast?

Student 2: I never eat french fries for breakfast.

(Student 1 gives the card saying “never” to Student 2)

Student 1: How often do you do your homework?

Student 2: I usually do my homework.

(Student 1 doesn’t have a ”usually” card. Student 1 changes partners and tries again.)

Ideas for Questions: How often do you…

wash your hair?

buy a car?

eat at a restaurant?

call your brother?

walk to school?

Grammar Practice

Practice 1

Directions: Complete the sentences below with the adverbs of frequency that is right for you. Use negative if possible.

Examples: I usually eat fish once or twice a week. Or I don’t often eat hamburgers for lunch.

1. I ___________________ eat ice cream for dessert.
2. I ___________________ swim in the ocean.
3. I ___________________ ride my bike in the park.
4. I ___________________ cook dinner for my family.
5. I ___________________ sleep eight hours a day.
6. I ___________________ visit my doctor for an annual checkup.
7. I ___________________ exercise at the gym.
8. I ___________________ drink coffee in the morning.
9. I ___________________ eat more vegetables than meat.
10. I ___________________ go dancing in the evening.

Practice 2

Directions: Fill in the blanks below with the best adverbs of frequency (some sentences may have more than one correct answer).

Example: My sister is never sad. She is always happy.

1. I was late for work one time last year. I was ___________________ late.
2. He always remembers to turn off the light before leaving the room. He ___________________ forgets to turn off the light.
3. Martin gets up at 5 a.m. five days a week. He ___________________ gets up early.
4. Judy finishes work at 8 p.m. three days a week. She ___________________ goes home late.
5. My brother eats burgers every weekend. He ___________________ eats fast food.
6. Tom failed many tests this semester. He ___________________ passed his tests.
7. It’s always hot and sunny here. I ___________________ see any snow.
8. Susan and her classmates works on a project every week. They ___________________ work together.
9. My grandmother doesn’t know how to use a computer. She ___________________ uses a computer.
10. Lan goes shopping three times a week, but she doesn’t ___________________ buy new clothes.

Practice 3

Directions: Answer the questions below using the adverbs of frequency for each statement.

Example: How often do you go to the gym? – I usually go to the gym three times a week.

1. How often do you smoke? ___________________________________________________________________
2. How often do you eat junk food? ___________________________________________________________________
3. How often do you eat breakfast? ___________________________________________________________________
4. How often do you work out? ___________________________________________________________________
5. How often do you eat out on weekends? ___________________________________________________________________
6. How often do you go dancing? ___________________________________________________________________
7. How often do you stay up after midnight? ___________________________________________________________________
8. How often do you get up at 6 am? ___________________________________________________________________
9. How often do you do the laundry? ___________________________________________________________________
10. How often do you need to go to the dentist? ___________________________________________________________________

Practice 4

Directions: First, complete the 7 sentences below about yourself. Write 3 true sentences and 4 false sentences. Make the sentences difficult to guess. After completing your sentences, form a group of 4-5 classmates, take turns reading your sentences aloud, your classmates will guess which sentences are true and which ones are false.

1. I always _________________________________________________________________________________
2. I usually _________________________________________________________________________________
3. I often __________________________________________________________________________________
4. I sometimes ______________________________________________________________________________
5. I occasionally _____________________________________________________________________________
6. I rarely __________________________________________________________________________________
7. I never __________________________________________________________________________________