Adverbs of Frequency

What are adverbs of frequency?

We use adverbs of frequency to say how often we do something. Adverbs of frequency are often used with the present simple because they indicate repeated or routine activities.

Adverbs of frequency :

Always
Usually
Often
Sometimes
Seldom/rarely
Never

• They often go out for dinner.

• I never go to cinema. I don't like it.

• I don't mind going to the theater. I sometimes go with my husband.

• Never say never. (proverb)

• She likes dancing. She always go to the night club to dance.

• They usually quarrel. I rarely see them in good terms with each other.

Other adverbs of frequency include:

• occasionally

• frequently

Position of adverbs of frequency

• Generally speaking adverbs of frequency come before the main verb except the main verb "to be":

  • I sometimes visit my uncle.

  • We have often seen him pass by the house.

  • They are seldom at work.

• Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually can also go at the beginning or end of a sentence:

  • Sometimes they visit him.

  • I miss him occasionally.

• Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with "very"):

  • We see them rarely.

  • John eats meat very seldom.

Adverbs of frequency include (form most often to least often):

1	always
2	usually
3	often
4	sometimes/occasionally
5	seldom/rarely
6	never

Cumulative and Coordinate Adjectives

Where to place adjectives?

Adjectives are placed:

• before a noun which they modify

• or after a verb like be, feel, seem, look.

Examples:

• They bought a big house.

• They are nice.

Cumulative or coordinate adjectives

When adjectives pile up in front of a noun, however, you may sometimes have difficulty arranging them. Such a string of adjectives can be either cumulative or coordinate adjectives.

Coordinate Adjectives

These are adjectives that separately modify a noun. Their order can be scrambled and they can be joined by and. A comma is needed to separate each coordinate adjective. But if there is a the word and no comma is needed.

Example:

While strolling in the woods, they found a strange, mysterious and frightened child.

Cumulative Adjectives

When adjectives pile up to jointly describe the noun and need to be arranged in a specific order, they are called cumulative adjectives. No commas are needed to separate the adjectives.

Example:

He bought a wonderful old French car.

Cumulative adjectives generally follow a certain order of arrangement.

Opinion	good, attractive, beautiful, delicious...
Size	large, small, enormous...
Age	old, new, modern, young...
Length or shape	long, short, square, round...
Color	red, blue, green...
Origin (nationality, religion)	American, French, Muslim, Christian...
Material	plastic, woolen, wooden, cotton..
Purpose	electric (wire) , tennis (shirt)

It should be noted that long strings of cumulative adjectives tend to be awkward. It would be acceptable to use no more than two or three of them.

Examples:

• An attractive young American lady.

• A modern Japanese electric car.

• A big square blue box.

You may also be interested in

• Possessive adjectives

• Adjectives

• Demonstratives

• Quantifiers

• Determiners

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