Adverbs of frequency

How to identify adverbs of frequency

These adverbs fall into two categories definite frequency and indefinite frequency Both kinds of adverbs answer How often?

Adverbs of definite frequency and their position

These include words and phrases like the following

- once twice three'several times (a day week month year, etc)

- hourly/daily weekly/'fortnightly/monthly/yearly annually

- every + e g day/week/month/year + morning afternoon evening night and in combinations like every other day every 3 years every few days every third (etc) day

- on + Mondays Fridays weekdays, etc

These adverbials usually come at the end of a sentence There s a collection from this letter box twice daily

Some of them can also begin a sentence, just like adverbs of time

This may be necessary to avoid ambiguity

Once a month we visit our daughter who s at Leeds University

avoids the ambiguity of

We visit our daughter who s at Leeds University once a month

The -ly adverbs (hourly daily etc) are not normally used to begin

sentences

Adverbs of indefinite frequency

These adverbs give general answers to How often? Here are some of the most common, arranged on a 'scale of frequency'

- always (i e 'all of the time')

- almost always nearly always

- generally normally regularly usually

- frequently often

- sometimes occasionally

- almost never hardly ever rarely scarcely ever seldom

- not ever never (i e 'none of the time')

Negative frequency adverbs (almost never, etc above) cannot be used with not [> 13.10]

/ hardly ever see Brian these days (Not */ don't hardly ever")

The following can be intensified with very frequently occasionally often rarely regularly and seldom But note that very occasionally means 'not very often'

We only have dinner parties very occasionally these days The following can be modified by fairly and quite frequently often and regularly

Other adverbials that suggest indefinite frequency are again and again at times every so often (every) now and again from time to time (every) now and then, and ordinary -ly adverbs such as constantly continually continuously repeatedly

7 Adverbs

Not. any more, not any longer, etc. refer both to duration and frequency, indicating activities that used to occur frequently, but have now stopped [> 7.36].

Position of adverbs of indefinite frequency