What is an adverb of frequency?
An adverb of frequency tells us how often something happens. We can use them in most tenses, but we mainly use them with the present simple.
What are the most common adverbs of frequency in English?
| Adverb | Approximate Meaning | Example |
| always | 100% of the time | I always have breakfast. |
| usually | most of the time | She usually gets up at 7 am. |
| often | many times | We often walk to work. |
| sometimes | on some occasions | He is sometimes late. |
| hardly ever | not often | I hardly ever drink coffee. |
| never | 0% of the time | They never go to bed early. |
How do we use adverbs of frequency in English?
Let’s look at where we put adverbs of frequency in a sentence.
Quick guide:
| Verb | Position | Example |
| 1) most verbs | before the main verb | I usually drink tea in the morning. |
| 2) be | after the verb | They are always tired on Friday. |
| 3) auxiliary verbs | before the main verb | We have often played chess. |
❗These rules apply most of the time, but there are exceptions.
1) Most verbs
With most verbs, put the adverb immediately before the main verb.
Pattern: subject + adverb + main verb
For example:
- It hardly ever rains here in summer.
- We don’t usually go to bed late.
- Do you sometimes watch TV in the evening?
- She often went to the beach as a child.
2) Be
With am, is, are, was and were, put the adverb after the verb.
Pattern: subject + be + adverb
(Questions: be + subject + adverb)
For example:
- My dog is always hungry.
- Are they usually busy on Saturdays?
- I wasn’t often tired after school.
- They were hardly ever at home.
3) Auxiliary verbs (including modal verbs)
With verbs like will, can, have and has, put the adverb after the auxiliary verb and immediately before the main verb.
Pattern: subject + auxiliary + adverb + main verb
(Questions: auxiliary + subject + adverb + main verb)
For example:
- We will always help you.
- Can you sometimes hear the ocean at night?
- He has never been to London.
- They’ve often gone to work by bus.
Exceptions
The adverbs usually, often and sometimes can also be placed at the beginning or end of the sentence. This is especially common with sometimes. This adds emphasis to the adverb.
For example:
- Often we walk to work.
- I watch TV in the evenings sometimes.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting the adverb between the subject and be:
- NOT:
He often is happy.Correct: He is often happy.
2. Putting the adverb after the main verb for verbs that are not be:
- NOT:
She goes often to the beach.Correct: She often goes to the beach.
Other adverbs of frequency
Here are some more examples of adverbs of frequency. These words can also be placed at the beginning or end of the sentence, but some sound quite formal or unnatural in those positions. When in doubt, put them in the middle of the sentence.
- normally
- regularly
- frequently
- generally
- occasionally
- infrequently
- rarely*
- seldom*
*If you put rarely, seldom, hardly ever or never at the beginning of a sentence, you need to use inversion (this is quite advanced grammar). For example: Rarely do I go to the beach.
Adverbial phrases of frequency
To talk about how often something happens, we can also use adverbial phrases of frequency. We often just call them “frequency expressions”.
We put these phrases at the beginning or end of the sentence. We do not put them in the middle.
For example:
- He cleans the house every now and then.
- Most of the time I eat at home.
Here are some common phrases:
- all day/night
- on a daily basis
- a lot of the time
- most of the time
- from time to time
- once in a while
- every now and then
- every so often
- now and again
- at times
- [number of times] a [period of time] (e.g. once a day, twice a week, three times a month, several times a year)
- every [period of time] (e.g. every morning, every day, every Monday, every week)
- every [ordinal number] [period of time] (e.g. every second day, every fourth Friday)
- every other day ( = every second day)
- on [day + s] (e.g. on Mondays, on weekdays)
Note: on Mondays = every Monday