This document discusses adverbs of frequency in English and how to use them correctly. It defines always, usually, sometimes, never to indicate how often an action occurs. Examples are provided like "She always practices the piano in the evenings" and "We usually go to the park on Sundays." The position of these adverbs in sentences is also explained. Questions using frequency adverbs are discussed, with examples like "How often do you watch films?" and "Do you often come here?"
2. Adverbs of frequency
• We can use adverbs of frequency to say
how often we do something.
• I always go to the cinema at the
weekend.
• She usually has cereal for breakfast.
• They sometimes watch TV in the
evenings.
• We never go to museums.
3. How to use them
• Always means every time. Usually means
most times. Sometimes means a small
number of times. Never means no times.
• She always practises the piano in the
evenings. Every day!
• We usually go to the park on Sundays. Most
Sundays!
• They sometimes make a cake. Just for special
days!
• He never forgets his homework. No times!
4. What are frequency adverbs?
• Frequency adverbs are those adverbs
that are used to express the periodicity
with which an action is performed,
that is, when we want to talk about
how often we do something, or how
often something happens. One of the
main problems that Spanish speakers
encounter to use the frequency
adverbs in English correctly, has to do
with the position in which we must
place them within a sentence.
5. the position of the frequency
adverbs
• Sara always goes out on Saturday
evenings.
• Her boyfriend usually picks her up and
they drive into the city centre.
• They often meet friends and have a
drink together.
• In the winter they sometimes go to the
cinema.
• They rarely go in the summer because
they prefer to stay outside.
• They never get home before midnight.
6. The use of the adverb in questions
To ask questions
about frequency,
you usually use
How often? For
example:
• How often do you
watch films?
• How often does he
play tennis?
• How often do the
trains arrive late?
But it is also possible that
when asking questions, you
use the frequency adverb in
a simple way, as in the
following case:
• Do you often come here?
• Does she always work so
hard?
• Do they ever pay on time?
(‘ever’ instead of ‘never’
for questions)