English Grammar for ESL learners
ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY
FREQUENCY ADVERBS
- Adverbs such as always, already, ever, never, often,
rarely, seldom, sometimes, still, usually,
generally, regularly,
are placed as follows in sentences :
- after the verb BE:
- Charlie is always late.
- English grammar is sometimes difficult.
- Children are usually noisy.
- before other verbs :
- Tom sometimes takes the bus.
- Sophie usually has lunch with her colleagues.
- Young people today often spend a lot of time on the phone.
- between two verbs :
or after the first verb if there are more than two :- Julie has never travelled on the Eurostar.
- You can always change your password later.
- I would never
have thought that.
- Except if the second verb
is an infinitive :
- Charlie often needs to ask for directions.
- Alex rarely chooses to travel by train.
- We generally try to eat healthy food.
- after the verb BE:
- Frequency phrases such as 'every day', 'once in a while', etc. go
at the beginning
or at the end of sentences.
- I wash my hair every day.
- Once a month I go to the hairdresser's to have it cut.
- Once in a while I am tempted to change the colour.
Please note that British English spelling is used on this website.