Adverbs of frequency

Today we are going to learn what a frequency adverb is or rather, frecuency adverbs and where we are going to place them.

The first difference we find between English and Spanish is that in Spanish we can make a freer use of adverbs of frequency in sentences. However, in English its position is more defined. Adverbs are an important part of our language and help us to explain our habits in our day to day life, or with the continuity of the since, they describe how often the actions we are talking about are performed.

There are several types of adverbs of frequency to express ourselves according to how much we repeat these actions or habits, we will add a brief percentage reference, although it is impossible to determine but they will give us a guide to know how to differentiate which one we want to use;

• Always; Always – 100%

They always sell delicious cookies. / They always sell delicious cookies.

• Usually/ Generally; Usually – 90%

Does Sandra usually study in the library? / Sandra suele estudiar en la biblioteca?

• Normally; Normally – 80%.

My friends normally go out on Saturday evenings. / Mis amigos normalmente salir los sábados noches.

• Often/ Frequently; A menudo -70% -70% -70% -70% -70% -70% -70% -70

Diego eats frequently in her office / Diego come frecuentemente en la oficina.

• Sometimes/ Occasionally; A veces – 50%.

I occasionally leave my bike outside. / Sometimes I leave my bike outside.

• Hardly ever/ Rarely/ Seldom; Seldom or seldom – 20%.

She rarely opens the store after at 9:00 o’clock/ Rara vez abre la tienda después de las 9 en punto.

• Never; Never – 0%

I never go to play paintball. / I never play paintball.

Position of adverbs

Depending on the type of verb you want to use, you will have to place the adverb before or after the verb. Let’s see in which situations it changes position.

To be

As we have seen in the examples used above, with the verb to be, the adverb of frequency follows the verb.

Does Carla never watch the horror movie? / Does Carla never watch horror movies?

Modal and auxiliary verbs

Adverbs will follow the modal or auxiliary verb.

I can never remember his name/ Nunca me acuerdo de su nombre.

Other verbs

In this case, the adverbs of frequency will go before the verb.

I Rarely floss my teeth. / I never floss my teeth.
This order is not random, its reason is that when speaking English fluently, one tends to contract verbs, such as TO BE or even modal verbs, a lot because of their pronunciation. For example;

You are always late./ You’re always late.

Becomes;

You’re always late./ You’re always late.

If the adverb were in front of the verb, it would directly interfere with the contraction and in turn with its pronunciation.

Exceptions:

In English, there are also other ways of expressing temporalities, different from the vocabulary you have learned today. These are used when we want to express an action that we repeat at a specific time or a certain number of times in a short period of time, let’s see examples;

I call my mum twice a week. / I call my mother twice a week.

She goes every Monday and Friday to the pastry shop to bring me sweets.