Adverbs of frequency tell us how often something happens/is the case, happened/was the case, will happen/will be the case, etc.
There are lots of them. Here are some examples:
always
|
constantly habitually chiefly predominantly typically continuously
|
usually normally mostly generally commonly largely regularly
|
often frequently
repeatedly
|
sometimes occasionally sporadically intermittently spasmodically
|
rarely infrequently seldom
|
never
|
Where do they come in the sentence?
1. If the sentence has one verb in it (e.g. no auxiliary verb) we usually put the adverb in the middle of the sentence, i.e. after the subject and before the verb:
Position A
subject
|
adverb
|
verb
|
predicate
|
Tom
|
usually
|
goes
|
to work by car.
|
2. The adverb usually comes after the verb "be":
Position B
subject
|
verb
|
adverb
|
predicate
|
Tom
Anne
|
is
isn’t
|
often
usually
|
late.
late.
|
This is not the case if we put the adverb at the beginning or end of the sentence for emphasis.
This rule also does not apply to short answers:
Speaker A: Is she usually on time?
|
Speaker A: Tell her not to be late.
|
Speaker A: Yes, she usually is.
|
Speaker B: She never is.
|
The rule is broken in other cases too, e.g.
Speaker A: What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at school?
|
Speaker B
|
I
|
normally
|
am
|
at school at this time,
|
but my teacher is ill.
|
Speaker A: You’re late again!
|
Speaker B:
|
I
|
usually
|
am
|
late on Mondays because the traffic is so bad.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Speaker A: Tom is late again!
|
Speaker B:
|
Tom
|
usually
|
is
|
late!
|
I
|
never
|
was
|
any good at maths.
|
3. If the sentence has more than one verb in it (e.g. auxiliary verb) we usually put the adverb after the first part of the verb:
Position C
subject
|
verb 1
|
adverb
|
verb 2
|
predicate
|
I
Anne
The children
|
can
doesn’t
have
|
never
usually
often
|
remember
smoke.
complained
|
his name.
about the state of the school toilets.
|
Exception:
In sentences with "have to" the adverb is in position A:
subject
|
adverb
|
verb 1
|
verb 2
|
predicate
|
We
|
often
|
have to
|
wait
|
for the bus.
|
4. For emphasis we can put the adverb at the beginning or end of the sentence.
At the end is unusual – we usually only put it there when we have forgotten to put it in earlier.
Position D
adverb
|
subject
|
verb 1
|
predicate
|
Sometimes
|
we
|
go
|
to school by bus.
|
Position E
subject
|
verb 1
|
predicate
|
adverb
|
We
|
go
|
to school by bus
|
- sometimes.
|
Exceptions:
"Always" can’t go at the beginning or end of the sentence.
"Never", "seldom", "rarely" can’t go at the end of a sentence. They only go at the beginning of a sentence in "polemic statements". Then they have to be followed by the word order for questions:
Never
|
has
|
there
|
been
|
a better time to overcome our differences!
|
Rarely
|
do
|
we
|
have
|
an opportunity like this to…
|
Seldom
|
had
|
the orchestra
|
given
|
a worse performance.
|
5. When using adverbs of frequency in the question form, put the adverb before the main verb.
Position F
Auxiliary verb
|
subject
|
Adverb
|
verb 1
|
predicate
|
Do
|
you
|
often
|
go
|
to the cinema?
|
Exceptions:
"Never", "seldom", "rarely" and other adverbs of frequency with a negative sense are not usually used in the question form.
6. When using adverbs of frequency in the negative form, put the adverb before the main verb.
Position G
subject
|
Auxiliary verb
|
Adverb
|
verb 1
|
predicate
|
They
|
don’t
|
often
|
go
|
to the cinema.
|
Exceptions:
"Never", "seldom", "rarely" and other adverbs of frequency with a negative sense are not usually used in the negative form.
Many thanks to Claire Capellen for contributing this valuable resource!
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