What is Adverbs of Frequency | English Lesson

In this complete tutorial for beginners, learners are going to learn how to use Adverbs of frequency. It is important to know how frequent we use adverbs to describe our actions. Through this article you will understand the adverbs of frequency with its meaning and examples in sentences.

What are adverbs?

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb. It gives more information about the verb.

What are the adverbs of frequency?

Adverbs of frequency change the meaning of a sentence by telling us how often or how frequently something happens. Frequency adverbs are temporal adverbs that answer the query “How frequently?” or “How widely?” They inform us of the frequency with which something occurs. Daily, weekly, and yearly are some instances. Frequently, occasionally, and infrequently.

Watch the video here to view the complete tutorial about examples in sentences and meaning of Adverbs of frequency.

https://youtu.be/D8u1AJCE-L8

Example of adverbs:

Without an adverb: Helen is dancing.
With an adverb: Helen is dancing gracefully.

“gracefully” gives us more information about the action.

“gracefully” modifies the verb dance.

What are adverbs of frequency?

Tim plays badminton.
Tim sometimes plays badminton.

“sometimes” is an adverb of frequency.

An adverb of frequency is an adverb of time. It describes the frequency of an action.

Here are the Examples of Adverbs of Frequency in Sentences with Meaning.

1 Adverbs of Indefinite frequency

Adverb of indefinite frequency give a general indication of the frequency.

Level of frequency	Adverb	Example
Maximum (100%)	always	I always play badminton.
90%	frequently	I frequently play badminton.
80%	usually	I usually play badminton.
70%	often	I often play badminton.
50%	sometimes	I sometimes play badminton.
40%	occasionally	I occasionally play badminton.
20%	seldom	I seldom play badminton.
10%	rarely, hardly ever	I hardly ever play badminton.
minimum	never	I never play badminton.

Position of adverbs of indefinite frequency

“Occasionally”, “sometimes”, “often”, “frequently”, and “usually” can also go at the beginning or end of a sentence.

Sometimes I play volleyball.

Lisa cooks food occasionally.

“Rarely” can go at the end of a sentence (often with “very”):

We go on vacation very rarely.

Adverbs of definite frequency 1

Adverbs of definite frequency describe the exact frequency of an action.

Example of Adverbs with definite freqeuncy:

I play volleyball three times a week.
I go to work five times a week.

If the number of times is one, then we say “once” (not “one time”)

Example: “I mop the floor once a week.”

If a number of times is two, then we say “twice” (not two times)

Example: I go to Singapore twice a year.

Adverbs of definite frequency 2

(The day of the week is in the plural form)

Adverbs of definite frequency 3

Asking a question about frequency

We use a structure “how often” + question form of the verb

How often do you play volleyball.

Example of Adverbs Asking a question about frequency:

How often does Helen clean her room?

When you lived in Thailand, how often did it rain?

How often will you visit me?

Exercise 1

Rewrite the sentence placing the adverb in brackets in its usual position.

1. She listens to the radio. (often)
2. We read a book. (sometimes)
3. George gets angry. (never)
4. John is very friendly. (usually)
5. I take sugar in my coffee. (sometimes)
6. Jane and Frank are hungry. (often)
7. My father goes for a walk in the evening. (always)
8. Jenny helps his father in the kitchen. (usually
9. They watch TV in the afternoon. (never)
10. Joe smokes. (never)

Exercise 2

Correct the sentences:

1. My sister is punctual always.
____________________________

2. David sometimes is a sad.
____________________________

3. Our teacher gives often us a lot of homework.
____________________________

4. We write usually our composition for the English class.
____________________________

5. She is late to work never.
____________________________

6.Hardly ever I go to the cinema.
____________________________

7. We revise for our tests usually.
____________________________

Answers: 1

She often listens to the radio.
We sometimes read a book.
George never gets angry.

John is usually very friendly.
I sometimes take sugar in my coffee.
Jane and Frank are often hungry.

My father always goes for a walk in the evening.
Jenny usually helps his father in the kitchen.
They never watch TV in the afternoon.

Joe never smokes.

Answers: 2

1. My sister is always punctual

2. David is sometimes a bit sad

3. Our teacher often gives us a lot of homework

4. We usually write our compositions for the English class

5. She is never late to work

6. I hardly ever go to the cinema

7. We usually revise for our tests

Downloadable Material

Here’s the downloadable material of Tutorial on Adverbs of Frequency English lesson here.

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