Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of frequency describe how often we do things or how often things happen.

The most common examples are: always, usually, often, sometimes, occasionally, hardly ever, seldom, rarely, never.

Sentence Position:

• Before the verb: The bus always leaves at 0800.
• Between two auxiliary verbs: I could always eat more chocolate cake.
• At the start for emphasis: Sometimes my wife drives me crazy!

Be careful of negative adverbs of frequency which are used at the start of a sentence. In this case you need to use an auxiliary verb after the adverb. Here are some useful examples:

• Rarely do I eat pasta.
• Never have I been so embarrassed.
• Seldom is my car cleaned.

How often do you use adverbs of frequency?