French Grammar: Adverbs of Frequency
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French Grammar: Adverbs of Frequency
la grammaire française: les adverbes de fréquence
Just as an adjective modifies (describes) a noun, an ADVERB modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs generally answer the question How? How well? How much? How often? or When? They help us provide more details when we’re describing actions.
Not surprisingly, adverbs of frequency indicate how frequently (or infrequently) an action occurs.
Study:
In general, adverbs of frequency are placed after the verb. However, the adverbs d’habitude, généralement, and parfois are usually placed at the beginning of a sentence. Longer adverbs such as de temps à autre, de temps en temps, tous les jours, and toutes les semaines are often placed at the end of a sentence.
Here is a list of commonly used adverbs of frequency:
à peine : hardly; barely; scarcely
de temps à autre : from time to time; occasionally; sometimes
de temps en temps : now and then; from time to time; occasionally; sometimes
deux fois : twice
d’habitude : usually
encore : again
encore une fois : one more time; once again
fréquemment : frequently; often
généralement : generally
habituellement : habitually; usually
jamais : never; ever
occasionnellement : occasionally
parfois : sometimes
peu souvent : infrequently; seldom
presque jamais : hardly ever; almost never
presque toujours : almost always
quelquefois : sometimes
rarement : rarely; seldom
sans cesse : continuously; without cease
souvent : often; frequently
toujours : always
tous les jours (lundis, mois, ans, etc.) : every day (Monday, month, year, etc.)
toutes les semaines (heures, cinq minutes, etc.) : every week (hour, five minutes, etc.)
trois (quatre, cinq, etc.) fois : three (four, five, etc.) times
une fois : once
Adapt:
Je regarde rarement la télé.
I rarely watch TV.
Il rend souvent visite à ses parents.
He visits his parents often.
Les étudiants font presque toujours leurs devoirs.
The students almost always do their homework.
Je ne trouve pas mes lunettes. Je les aurais dû laissées ailleurs.
I can’t find my glasses. I must have left them elsewhere.
La famille passe quelquefois leurs vacances à la montagne.
The family sometimes spends their vacation in the mountains.
Nous n’allons jamais au cinéma.
We never go to the movies.
