Adverbs of Frequency

Form

In an ordinary statement, adverbs of frequency sit in one of three places.

With an ordinary verb they go in front of it ('I sometimes eat breakfast at my desk'); with “be” they go straight after it ('He is never late for work'); and with a helping verb such as have, will, can or should they go between the helping verb and the main verb ('She has always been supportive', 'You should always check your email'). The one place they never go is between a verb and its object, so “I eat sometimes breakfast” is wrong. The adverbs run down a scale from always (100%) through usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes and occasionally to rarely, hardly ever, seldom and never (0%), and the last four are already negative — they never take “not” as well.

When to Use It

1. 1

   Put the adverb before the main verb in the simple present or simple past

   He usually wakes up before seven.

2. 2

   Put it after “am”, “is”, “are”, “was” and “were”

   She is always punctual for class.

3. 3

   Put it after the first helping verb in longer verb forms

   I have never met anyone as talented as her.

4. 4

   Put it after the subject in a question

   Do you usually walk to work?

5. 5

   Move “sometimes” or “occasionally” to the front or the end when you want to stress the frequency

   Sometimes I eat breakfast at my desk; usually and normally can open a sentence as well 'Usually I walk', and often and frequently can either open one or end one when a word like quite or very comes first 'I go there quite often'

6. 6

   Front a negative adverb such as “never”, “rarely” or “seldom” for emphasis in formal writing, and the subject and helping verb then swap places — simple tenses add do, does or did

   Never have I seen such chaos and Rarely do I eat out.

Common Mistakes

• Placing the adverb between the verb and its object: write I sometimes eat breakfast, not I eat sometimes breakfast, because the verb and its object stay together.
• Putting the adverb in front of “be”: write He is never late, not He never is late, because with “be” the adverb follows the verb.
• Putting “always” or “never” at the end of a sentence: write She always calls on Sundays, not She calls on Sundays always, because neither one moves to the end the way “sometimes” does.
• Adding “not” to an adverb that is already negative: write I never eat meat, not I do not never eat meat, because “never” already means “not ever”.
• Putting the adverb in front of the subject in a question: write Do you often travel?, not Often do you travel?, because in an ordinary question the adverb follows the subject.