2. WHAT ARE ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY
They are the ones we use to
express or describe how often
we perform an action. There are
6 main adverbs of frequency
used in English: always, usually
(or normally), often,
sometimes, rarely, and never.
Each of them has a similar
meaning:
•Always: siempre.
•Usually: usualmente.
•Normally: normalmente.
•Often: seguido o a menudo.
•Sometimes: algunas veces.
•Rarely: rara vez, pocas veces o raramente.
•Never: nunca.
3. BUT THEIR SUBSTANTIAL DIFFERENCE LIES IN THE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH THEY
ARE USED, THAT IS, IN THE NUMBER OF TIMES YOU CARRY OUT THE ACTION, AS
SHOWN BELOW.
4. WHAT IS THE POSITION OF THE ADVERBS OF
FREQUENCY?
As you can see in the table below, the most common position for adverbs of frequency is
between the subject and the verb, which is the grammatically correct way to place them.
Here you can find some simple examples:
• Sara always goes out on Saturday evenings.
• Her boyfriend of her usually picks her up and they drive into the city center.
• 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.
5. THE USE OF THE ADVERB IN QUESTIONS
To ask questions about frequency, How often? For example:
• How often do you watch movies?
• 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 adverb of frequency 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)
6. ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY WITH MODAL AND
AUXILIARY VERBS
If there is a modal verb in the sentence, the adverb of frequency is placed after it and before the main verb. See how it's done below:
• You must always try your best.
• We can usually find a seat on our train.
• They should never be rude to customers.
This same rule applies to auxiliary verbs; the adverb of frequency will then go between the auxiliary verb and the main verb, like this:
• I have never visited Turkey.
• He's always taking things from my desk. It's really annoying.
• You had rarely arrived late at work until yesterday.
