Adverbs of Frequency

Clear Grammar 2, 2nd edition: Keys to Grammar for English Language Learners Keith S. Folse Michigan ELT, 2012

UAndivt5erbs of FrequencPyress. All rights reserved. Discover the Grammar

igan Read the conversation between a university student and a reporter who is talking about her job, ich and then answer the five questions.

f M Line

ity o 1 Reporter: So, Lily, you're majoring in journalism, right?

ers 2 Student: Yes, that's correct. I'm graduating next June, and I'm looking for

niv 3

jobs now.

. U 4 Reporter: Well, it's never too early to do that!

012 5 Student: I know! So I'd like to ask you a few questions about what it's like to

) 2 6

work for a newspaper.

t (c 7 Reporter: Sure, go ahead.

righ 8 Student: Well, my first question is a basic one. Do you pretty much do the

py9

same thing every day?

Co10 Reporter: No, not really. I rarely do the same thing from one day to the next.

11 Student: Could you explain that a little bit more?

12 Reporter: Well, I mean that I always have a story that I'm working on, but the

13

stories are always different, so I never see the same people. I visit

14

different people, go to different places, and do many different things.

15

My job has a lot of variety.

148

Clear Grammar 2, 2nd edition: Keys to Grammar for English Language Learners Keith S. Folse Michigan ELT, 2012

5: Adverbs of Frequency 149

16 Student: How often are you in your office?

17 Reporter: Well . . . some of the time . . . I mean, my computer is there, and

18

that's where I write my stories, but sometimes I go interview people

19

in their homes or offices. Actually, I spend a lot of time in my car

20

going to and from interviews.

d. 21 Student: How do you stay in touch with the newspaper then?

rve 22 Reporter: Oh, I always take my cell phone with me.

ese 23 Student: Do you usually have a laptop with you, too?

ts r 24 Reporter: No. I don't like to use a laptop when I'm interviewing. I sometimes

igh 25

take notes on paper, but I usually use a little voice recorder. Then I

ll r 26

type my stories as soon as I get back to the office.

s. A 27 Student: So you don't use email much?

res 28 Reporter: Oh, yes, I do. I always check my email before I leave home in the

n P 29

morning, again when I get to the office, before and after lunch, and

iga 30

again before I go home in the evening.

ich 31 Student: Wow, that's a lot! Do you check your email on weekends, too?

f M 32 Reporter: Yes, I usually check my email on weekends. I will answer personal

ity o 33

emails, but I have a rule that I never answer business emails on the

ers 34

weekend or a holiday.

. Univ 1. Look at the five underlined words in the conversation. These words are called 12 adverbs of frequency because they tell us how frequent an action is. Study the 20 meaning of these frequency words, and then write these five words in the boxes. c) List them in order from the most frequent (all of the time) to the least frequent t ( (not at any time).

yrighMost Frequent

Least Frequent

Cop 100% of the time ---------- 50% of the time ---------- 0% of the time

Clear Grammar 2, 2nd edition: Keys to Grammar for English Language Learners Keith S. Folse Michigan ELT, 2012

150 Clear Grammar 2, 2nd Ed.

2. Locate the three sentences that include the word never. Write the line number of those sentences. Then circle the order of the subject, verb, and never.

Line

Word Order

a. ___________ S + V + never OR S + never + V

b. ___________ S + V + never OR S + never + V

. c. ___________ S + V + never OR S + never + V

served 3. Locate the four sentences that include the word always. Write the line number of re those sentences. Then circle the order of the subject, verb, and always.

ights Line ll r a. ___________ . A b. ___________ ess c. ___________ Pr d. ___________

Word Order

S + V + always OR S + always + V S + V + always OR S + always + V S + V + always OR S + always + V S + V + always OR S + always + V

ichigan 4. Based on your answers for Questions 2 and 3, where do you think these adverbs f M of frequency usually appear in a sentence? Does the verb matter? ity o _____________________________________________________________________ rs _____________________________________________________________________ nive _____________________________________________________________________

. U 5. One of these frequency words can come before the subject. Can you find an 12 example of the frequency word that can come before the subject?

Copyright (c) 20 Line

Frequency Word

Subject

Verb

Clear Grammar 2, 2nd edition: Keys to Grammar for English Language Learners Keith S. Folse Michigan ELT, 2012

5: Adverbs of Frequency 151

Grammar Lesson

Adverbs of Frequency

. always ved usually ser often ts re sometimes igh hardly ever ll r rarely

} s. A seldom

res never

10x0% x x x x x x 0%

all of the time most of the time much of the time some of the time

almost never

not at any time

f Michigan P Placement of Adverbs of Frequency in a Sentence

ity o after be: be + frequency

before other verbs: frequency + VERB

rs I am always hungry when I first wake up. ive Mohamed is usually late to class. n You are often the first to arrive at work. . U I am sometimes shy around new people 12 Carlos is rarely absent from school. 20 Zeke and Ana are seldom on time. c) We are never at school after 5 PM.

I always use a pencil in math class. He usually goes to school by bike. My teacher often arrives early. We sometimes play tennis at night. Carlos rarely misses school. They seldom fail a test. I never eat a big breakfast.

right ( Questions with Adverbs of Frequency

py A: Do you ever take a bus to work? CoB: Yes, but not usually. I prefer to drive

Meaning: Do you take a bus to work at any time? The answer is probably yes or

my own car when I can.

no with an adverb of frequency.

A: How often do you take a bus to work? B: Maybe once or twice a week.

Meaning: How many times during a certain period of time do you take a bus? The answer is probably a number with a period of time.

Clear Grammar 2, 2nd edition: Keys to Grammar for English Language Learners Keith S. Folse Michigan ELT, 2012

152 Clear Grammar 2, 2nd Ed.

Rule 1. Adverbs of frequency are words that tell how often something happens: always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, seldom, never.

Rule 2. In a sentence, an adverb of frequency usually comes after be but before other verbs. When a verb has two parts (has eaten), the adverb of frequency occurs between the two parts (has never eaten).

Rule 3. The word sometimes can occur in all three places: in front of a sentence, in the

d. middle of a sentence, or at the end of a sentence. rve Sometimes we practice together. se We sometimes practice together. re We practice together sometimes.

ights Rule 4. To ask about the frequency of an action, use ever or How often: Do you ever ll r play golf? How often do you play golf? . A Rule 5. Negative adverbs of frequency such as rarely, seldom, and never should be used ss with an affirmative verb. Double negatives are not possible.

n Pre BE CAREFUL!

ichiga Common Learner Errors M 1. We usually are are usually the first

of people to arrive at work each morning. ity 2. It takes usually usually takes me only

rs ten minutes to make a tuna sandwich. ive 3. The price of gas never has been has

Un never been as high as it is now. Copyright (c) 2012. 4. I don't never never text while driving.

Explanation

Adverbs of frequency usually come after the verb be. Adverbs of frequency usually come before verbs (other than be).

When a verb has two parts (is using, has used), adverbs of frequency usually come between the two parts. Double negatives are not possible.

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