Present Simple

(Adverbs of Frequency)

(Teacher’s copy)(Day 2)

Schema
1. Students choose the correct form of adverbs of frequency in a given activity.
Instructions: Students are asked to make sentences on different activities related to their daily
routine.

Questions:

1. How often do you make a phone call?

2. How often do you eat lunch?
3. How often do you exercise?
4. How often do you brush your teeth?
5. How often do you play on your computer?
6. How often do you take a shower?
7. How often do you read a book?
8. How often do you eat breakfast?
9. How often do you listen to music?
10. How often do you eat dinner?
Lesson Proper
The teacher asks the student, ``Can you tell me what our topic is all about based on the
activity we have had”?

Adverbs of Frequency are adverbs of time that answer the question "How frequently?" or "How
often?”. They tell us how often something happens.

Here are some examples:

a. daily, weekly, yearly
b. often, sometimes, rarely

You probably see a difference between a) and b) above. With words like daily we know exactly
how often. The words in a) describe definite frequency. On the other hand, words like often give
us an idea about frequency but they don't tell us exactly. The words in b) describe indefinite
frequency.

We separate them into two groups because they normally go in different positions in the
sentence.
-The teacher begins to illustrate the definite and indefinite adverbs of frequency.
-Today you’ll learn a variety of adverbs to describe how frequent or how often an activity
happens. Let us start with the definite adverbs of frequency.
-Let us move on to indefinite adverbs of frequency.

Adverbs of Frequency

An adverb of frequency tells us how often something takes place. We often place adverbs
of frequency in these positions.

Positions Examples of adverbs of frequency

At the beginning of the sentence Occasionally, often, sometimes, usually

At the end of the sentence Frequently, occasionally, sometimes

Between the subject and the main verb Always, often, usually, seldom, rarely, never

Immediately after the verb “to be” Always, often, usually, seldom, rarely, never

Rough % Adverb of Frequency Example

100 Always I always work in the garden.

 80 Usually I usually come home after school.

70 Often I spend Christmas with friends frequently.

50 Sometimes Sometimes I come home early.

30 Occasionally Occasionally I play badminton with harry.

20 Seldom I seldom attend our club meetings.

10 Rarely I rarely study in the library.

5 Hardly ever I hardly ever play video games.

0 Never I am never late for work.

Adverbs of Definite Frequency

Examples:
hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly
every second, once a minute, twice a year
once, twice, once or twice, three times

Adverbs of definite frequency, like all adverbs of definite time, typically go in END
position.

Examples:
Most companies pay taxes yearly.
The manager checks the toilets every hour.
The directors meet weekly to review progress.

Sometimes, usually for reasons of emphasis or style, some adverbs of definite frequency may go
at the FRONT.

For example:
Every day, more than five thousand people die on our roads.

Evaluation
Activity 1
Word order. Arrange the words to form into a sentence with the correct order of the adverb of
frequency.

1. hardly ever//strangers/dog/barks/our/at
Our dog hardly ever barks at strangers.

2. weekends/must/on/often/she/work
She must often work on weekends.

3. the/occasionally/we/go/movies/to
We occasionally go to the movies.

4. They/go/holidays/The Dominican Republic/for/to/usually

They usually go to the Dominican Republic for holidays.

5. never/my/rude/I/parents/am/to
I am never rude to my parents.

6. always/the/children/morning/eat/my/breakfast/in
My children always eat breakfast in the morning.

7. mother/weekend/she/on/rings/normally/her/the
She normally rings her mother on the weekend.

8. listen/music/you/to/often/?/reggaeton/do/how
How often do you listen to reggaeton music?

9. because/eats/food/unhealthy/is/seldom/he/it/fast/
He seldom eats fast food because it is unhealthy.

10. you/night/program/watch/which/at/do/usually
Which program do you usually watch at night?

Activity 2
Based on the table given, rewrite the sentences using the frequency of adverbs in the correct
position ( x indicates how often the action happens).
(always, seldom, usually, never, sometimes, rarely, hardly ever)

S M T W Th F S
1. Father is late for dinner. x x x x x x x

2. Fred goes hunting with his friend. x x x x

3. Their child is well-behaved. x

4. My mother can do my science homework.

5. I go out at night. x x

6. We celebrate my dad’s birthday at a hotel. x x x x x x

7. Tourists see whales in the ocean x x x

8. My cousins are away on the weekends. x x x x x x

9. I go swimming alone.

10. Are they happy to go to school? x x x x x x x

Answer Key:
1. always 2. sometimes 3. hardly ever 4. Never 5. Rarely 6. Usually 7. Seldom
8. usually 9. never 10. always

Student’s Copy
Adverbs of Frequency are adverbs of time that answer the question "How frequently?" or "How
often?”. They tell us how often something happens.

Here are some examples:

a. daily, weekly, yearly
b. often, sometimes, rarely

Adverbs of Frequency

An adverb of frequency tells us how often something takes place. We often place adverbs of
frequency in these positions.

Positions
At the beginning of the sentence
At the end of the sentence
Between the subject and the main verb
Immediately after the verb “to be”
Examples
Occasionally, often, sometimes, usually
Frequently, occasionally, sometimes
Always, often, usually, seldom, rarely, never
Always, often, usually, seldom, rarely, never

Rough % Adverb of Frequency Example

100 Always I always work in the garden.
80 Usually I usually come home after school.
70 Often I spend Christmas with friends
frequently.
50 Sometimes Sometimes I come home early.
30 Occasionally Occasionally I play badminton
with harry.
20 Seldom I seldom attend our club meetings.
10 Rarely I rarely study in the library.
5 Hardly ever I hardly ever play video games.
0 Never I am never late for work.

Adverbs of Definite Frequency

Examples:
hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly
every second, once a minute, twice a year
once, twice, once or twice, three times
 Adverbs of definite frequency, like all adverbs of definite time, typically go in END
position.

Examples:

Most companies pay taxes yearly.

The manager checks the toilets every hour.
The directors meet weekly to review progress.

Sometimes, usually for reasons of emphasis or style, some adverbs of definite frequency may go
at the FRONT.

For example:
Every day, more than five thousand people die on our roads.

Activity 1
Word order. Arrange the words to form into a sentence with the correct order of the adverb of
frequency.

1. hardly ever//strangers/dog/barks/our/at

2. weekends/must/on/often/she/work

3. the/occasionally/we/go/movies/to

4. They/go/holidays/The Dominican Republic/for/to/usually

5. never/my/rude/I/parents/am/to

6. always/the/children/morning/eat/my/breakfast/in

7. mother/weekend/she/on/rings/normally/her/the

8. listen/music/you/to/often/?/reggaeton/do/how

9. because/eats/food/unhealthy/is/seldom/he/it/fast/

10. you/night/program/watch/which/at/do/usually
Activity 2
Based on the table given, rewrite the sentences using the frequency of adverbs in the correct
position ( x indicates how often the action happens).
(always, seldom, usually, never, sometimes, rarely, hardly ever)

S M T W Th F S
1. Father is late for dinner. x x x x x x x

2. Fred goes hunting with his friend. x x x x

3. Their child is well-behaved. x

4. My mother can do my science homework.

5. I go out at night. x x

6. We celebrate my dad’s birthday at a hotel. x x x x x x

7. Tourists see whales in the ocean x x x

8. My cousins are away on the weekends. x x x x x x

9. I go swimming alone.

10. Are they happy to go to school? x x x x x x x