2. You never take anything seriously (adverbs of frequency)

Reflexiona

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Do you remember? Paco never gets angry. He has won the lottery and he is helping people. He often goes to hospitals to make children smile with presents and he takes it seriously. But how often does Paco go to hospitals?

Adverbs of frequency are usually used with the Present Simple tense to say how often a person does something (e.g. Paco always smiles, or he sometimes visits children in hospitals). The most frequently-used adverbs of frequency are:

always - usually - often - sometimes - never
siempre - normalmente - a menudo - algunas veces - nunca

Notice where they are placed in the sentence.

   
BEFORE the MAIN VERB AFTER the verb TO BE
You never take anything seriously You're always going off

Ejercicio Resuelto

Read the following sentences carefully.

We NEVER drink alcohol

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  1. Paco always does the lottery.
  2. Paco and his father always practise catch and release fishing.
  3. They usually play it at weekends.
  4. We usually have a good time.
  5. My father can sometimes jump over that fence.
  6. We frequently meet at 5 p.m.
  7. We often go to the burger bar.
  8. We never drink alcohol.
  9. On Sundays, we are always very tired and we usually stay at home.
  10. Juan sometimes tells jokes there.

Which adverbs of frequency can you recognize? Pay attention to their position in the sentences.

Importante

However, there are more adverbs to express how often we do something. Some of them are also placed in the sentence before the main verb and after the verb to be.

Sometimes

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always   Juan always makes his friends laugh.
  almost always My parents are almost always at home.
usually generally, normally, regularly They usually/generally/normally/regularly go to the cinema on Sundays.
often frequently Paco often/frequently plays tennis with Andrés.
sometimes occasionally He sometimes/occasionally studies English.
 

hardly ever, seldom, rarely, almost never,

Juan is hardly ever/seldom/rarely/almost never upset.
never   Paco never gets angry.

Comprueba lo aprendido

Pregunta

Which of the following sentences is correct?

1.

Respuestas

Paco always is happy now.

Paco is always happy now.

Retroalimentación

Pregunta

2.

Respuestas

His sister sometimes can help their mother in the kitchen.

Her sister can sometimes help their mother in the kitchen.

Retroalimentación

Pregunta

3.

Respuestas

Paco and his friends usually watch football matches together.

Paco and his friends watch usually football matches together.

Retroalimentación

Para saber más

If you want to keep  practising with adverbs of frequency and the Simple Present tense, there are lots of web sites to do it.

  • Click here to improve the normal position of these adverbs in a sentence.
  • Or click here to improve the grade of frequency they express.

Curiosidad

People always talk about the weather.

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Banksy: Nola

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The 18th-century writer Samuel Johnson remarked: "It is commonly observed that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather".

The weather

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And it is true! British people love talking about the weather. In fact, they often start a conversation with strangers and friends by talking about the weather. As weather is a neutral topic, it is usually safe to use it to strike up a conversation at the bus stop, in a shop, or on a lift.

In his book How to Be an Alien, George Mikes says that in England the weather is always an interesting, exciting subject and you must be good at discussing it! On the contrary, in the rest of Europe we use this topic when we do not have any other topic to talk about. Have you never talked about the weather on a lift?

Adverbs of frequency are really useful in English to say how often you do something. However, this is not the only way we have to say that. We may also use other adverbs and adverbial phrases. Let's have a look at them and work on them in the next section.