1. Adverbs of frequency tell how often something happens.

2. Adverbs of frequency come before the main verb if the main verb is not
to be.

We usually eat breakfast at 7:00 a.m.

Our dad never gets off work before 6:00.

I sometimes wear a tie to work.

3. Adverbs of frequency come after the verb to be. (am, is, are, was, were)

I am always happy to see you.

You are never ready for school on time!

The students are sometimes discouraged by poor grades.

RULES
1. Adverbs of frequency are words that tell how often something happens:
always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, seldom, never.
2. In a sentence, an adverb of frequency usually comes after, be but before
other werbs. When a verb has two parts (has eaten), the adverb of
frequency occurs between the two parts (has never eaten).
3. The word sometimes can occur in all three places: in front of a sentence,
in the middle of a sentence, or at the end of a sentence.

Sometimes we practice together.

We sometimes practice together.

We practice together sometimes.

4. To ask about the frequency of an action, use ever or how often:

Do you ever play golf?

How often do you play golf?

5. Negative adverbs of frequency such as rarely, seldom, and never should

be used with an affirmative verb, double negatives are not possible.

The meanings of adverbs of frequency

ADVERB OF FREQUENCY

MEANINGS

________________

all of the time

________________

most of the time

________________

much of the time

________________

some of the time

________________

almost never

________________

not at anytime

Circle the correct words in these five mini-conversations.

a) Yuck! Does it (always rain, rain always) so much here?
b) Yes, it(usually does, does usually)
a) Where I'm from, it (rarely storms, storms rarely)
b) Oh, it (doesn't often, does often not) storm here, but it rains
frequently.
a) That's good. I don't like storms because they (scare usually, usually
scare) me!
b) Im (not never scared, never scared) of storms.
a) Well, what are you afraid of?
b) I (sometimes am, am sometimes) scared of spiders, but only the big
ones.
a) No, clowns (do not usually, not usually) scare me.
b) What about big dogs?

Put the adverb of frequency on the right place.

1. He listens to the radio. (often)
_____________________________
2. They read a book. (sometimes)
_____________________________
3. Pete gets angry. (never)
_____________________________
4. Tom is very friendly. (usually)
_____________________________
5. I take sugar in my coffee. (sometimes)
_____________________________
6. Ramon is hungry. (often)
_____________________________
7. My grandmother goes for a walk in the evening. (always)
_____________________________
8. Walter helps his father in the kitchen. (usually)
_____________________________
9. They watch TV in the afternoon. (never)
_____________________________
10. Christine smokes after dinner. (seldom)
_____________________________

Put the words in the correct order.

1 never / I / dinner / night / after/ eat / 11:00 / at
..
2 Carl / Mexico / goes / to / usually / for / holidays / his
..
3 rides / Cynthia / bicycle / always / in / morning / her / the
..
4 goes / gym / Matt / the / every / morning / to / Sunday
..

Put the adverb of frequency on the right place.

1. Charlotte goes to the pool. (sometimes)
_____________________________
2. It rains in Florida. (often)
_____________________________
3. I have a shower in the morning. (always)
_____________________________
4. I go to bed late. (always)
_____________________________
5. Rafa goes swimming. (every week)
_____________________________
6. Montse travels by air. (often)
_____________________________

7. Frank does exercises. (every day)

_____________________________
8. Marta and Maite have lunch. (often)
_____________________________
9. Tony doesnt get up before seven. (usually)
_____________________________
10. The weather is bad in July. (never)
_____________________________

Use the prompts and the frequency adverbs to write sentences about
yourself.

ALWAYS

USUALLY

OFTEN

1. Get up at seven oclock

___________________________________________
2. Have a shower in the morning
___________________________________________
3. Have lunch at school
___________________________________________
4. Do homework in the afternoon
___________________________________________
5. Play computer games in the evenings
___________________________________________

SOMETIMES

NEVER

6. Cook dinner
___________________________________________
7. Watch tv before I go to bed
___________________________________________
8. Go to bed early
_________________________________