Grammar
Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of frequency
show how often something happens. For example:
"I always brush my teeth" means
I brush my teeth every day.
Here are some common
adverbs of frequency.
Adverb
Always
- He always eats breakfast.
Usually - He usually eats breakfast.
Often - He often eats breakfast.
Sometimes - He sometimes eats breakfast.
Never - He never eats breakfast.
For infrequent
events we can use:
Don't usually
- He doesn't usually eat breakfast.
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Frequency
100%
80%
60%
40%-50%
0%
20%
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Affirmative/Negative
Frequency Adverbs
Affirmative frequency
adverbs can be made negative, for example:
- I don't always eat rice for breakfast.
- He doesn't usually come home late.
Negative frequency
adverbs can't be made negative: for example:
- I don't never eat rice for breakfast
- This is incorrect
Adverb Position
Adverb position varies
greatly in English. However as a general rule,
adverbs of frequency come before the main verb.
For example:
These are correct:
"sometimes" comes before the main
verb "play"
- We sometimes play sports.
- We don't often play sports.
These are incorrect:
- We play sometimes sports.
- We don't play often sports.
Other positions are
also possible, for example:
- We play sports sometimes.
Here the adverb is in the end position.
- Sometimes we come home late.
The beginning positon is possible, especially
when adding emphasis.
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Click below for exercises
using adverbs of frequency.
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