Adverbs of frequency — identify and understand

Adverbs of frequency: progressive explanation, topic-specific examples, guided exercises and a corrected assessment.

Duration: 25 minPrerequisites: comparatif-inferiorite-produirePass mark: 80%

1. Objective

By the end, you can spot Always, often, sometimes, never in a sentence and explain the clue you used.

2. Discover

Read the examples before looking for a rule. What keeps coming back when the sentence uses Always, often, sometimes, never?

3. Understand

Frequency adverbs show how often an action happens. With a simple tense, they usually stay close to the verb: “je viens souvent”. In careful French, “jamais” normally goes with “ne”: “je ne viens jamais”.

Je prends toujours un café le matin.Nous allons souvent au marché le samedi.Elle travaille parfois à la bibliothèque.Je ne regarde jamais la télévision le matin.Tu arrives souvent avant moi.Ils ne sont jamais en retard.

Watch out

Start with the subject and time reference. Only then choose the tense or verb form: word-for-word translation often leads to the wrong tense.

4. Guided practice

5. Independent practice

6. Write / speak

Choose two Always, often, sometimes, never examples and say aloud what lets you recognise the pattern.

7. Check your learning

8. Remember

First identify the meaning you want, then the form used for Always, often, sometimes, never. The answer must work in the whole sentence.

Download worksheet (PDF)

9. Now I can…

I can recognise Always, often, sometimes, never in a new sentence.