Adverbs of frequency – with audio!

Adverbs of frequency are those words that help us to describe how often we do certain actions:

• He always spends the summer in Canada.
• They rarely go to the cinema.
• My grandmother comes to visit twice a month.
• Sometimes, she cooks but not very often.
• I usually walk to work.

She never drives in the city.For example, in the sentence: “I always do exercise in the morning”, the word “always” indicates that the frequency of action is 100%. On the contrary, if the example were: “I never do exercise in the morning”, the word “never” indicates that the frequency with which the action is performed is 0%.

In this article we’ll cover:

• When to use adverbs of frequency
• What are the most important adverbs of frequency in Spanish
• How to use adverbs of frequency
• Summary
• Practice exercises
• Final words.

When to use adverbs of frequency

We use adverbs of frequency when we want to emphasize how often we perform an action. For example, if someone asks: 

• “How often do you dance?” 

Inevitably the answer will refer to a degree of frequency:

•  “I almost never dance”,  or “I dance once a week”.

In any case, adverbs of frequency allow us to express whether the action to which we refer is habitual or not, and how often we perform it.

What are the most important adverbs of frequency in Spanish?

Next, we are going to expose the adverbs from their highest level to their lowest level of frequency:

1. Always (siempre) 100 %

• I always watch TV after dinner.
  Siempre veo la TV después de la cena.

• Pedro always works from home.
  Pedro siempre trabaja desde su casa.

2. Almost always (casi siempre) 90%

• I almost always have lunch at my mother’s house on Sundays.
  Casi siempre almuerzo en la casa de mi madre los domingos.

• Alejandra almost always takes a bath at night.
  Alejandra casi siempre toma un baño en las noches.

3. Usually, generally, normally (Normalmente, Usualmente, Generalmente) 80%

• I usually drink a lot of water throughout the day.
  Normalmente bebo mucha agua durante el día.

• I usually study listening to music.
  Usualmente estudio escuchando música.

• Laura usually goes to the gym in the mornings.
  Laura generalmente va al gimnasio por las mañanas.

4. Often (A menudo) 70%

• Carlos often has to travel, due to his job.
  Carlos a menudo tiene que viajar, debido a su trabajo.

• I often prefer to stay home, enjoying a good book.
  A menudo prefiero quedarme en casa, disfrutando de un buen libro.

5. Sometimes (A veces, Algunas veces) 50%

• Sometimes I go shopping with my friends, when I have free time.
  A veces voy de compras con mis amigas, cuando tengo tiempo libre.

• Sometimes it is good to cry.
  Algunas veces es bueno llorar.

5.1 Once (Una vez)

• I lost my passport once.
  Una vez perdí mi pasaporte.

5.2 Twice (Dos veces)

• Andrea called me twice.
  Andrea me llamó dos veces.

5.3  Three times (Tres veces)

• Mario goes for a run three times a week. 
  Mario sale a correr tres veces a la semana.

6. Once in a while (De vez en cuando) 30 %

• Once in a while I go for a walk in the mountains, but I prefer to go to the beach.
  De vez en cuando voy a caminar por la montaña, pero prefiero ir a la playa.

• Did you know that once in a while I write poetry?
  ¿Sabías que de vez en cuando escribo poesía?

7. Seldom, Rarely, Hardly ever (Rara vez, Pocas veces, Casi nunca) 15%

• We hardly ever go out to parties with my friends, we prefer quieter plans.
  Casi nunca salimos de fiesta con mis amigos, preferimos planes más tranquilos.

• I seldom eat meat, I prefer vegetarian options.
  Rara vez como carne, prefiero las opciones vegetarianas.

• I rarely go to the cinema, I prefer to watch movies at home.
  Pocas veces voy al cine, prefiero ver películas en mi casa.

8. Never (Nunca) 0%

• Juan never drinks alcohol.
  Juan nunca bebe alcohol.

• Sonia never tells lies.
  Sonia nunca dice mentiras.

How to use adverbs of frequency

Using the adverbs of frequency in Spanish is very easy, since they can be located almost anywhere in the sentence. For example, if I say:

•  I almost always read before going to sleep

I can say in Spanish: 

• Casi siempre leo antes de dormir, or
•  Antes de dormir casi siempre leo, or 
• Antes de dormir leo, casi siempre.

These adverbs can even be used alone, if we are answering a question: 

Example: 

• Do you read before going to sleep?
  ¿Tú lees antes de dormir? 

and the answer: 

• Almost always.
  Casi siempre.

However, depending on the context and adverbs, sentence structures can become more complex. In addition, Spanish is very flexible and allows you to organize words in many ways.

Examples:

• At Christmas my family almost always gets together, usually at my grandfather ‘s house.
  En navidad, mi familia se reúne casi siempre; en la casa de mi abuelo, usualmente.

• Because of his work, Juan often travels to other cities, but never to other countries.
  Por su trabajo, Juan viaja a otras ciudades a menudo, pero a otros países nunca.

• In summer, we almost always walking to the beach, but also sometimes by bike
  En verano, vamos a la playa caminando, casi siempre, pero también en bicicleta algunas veces.

These freedoms happen more in spoken Spanish than in written Spanish, and with practice you will develop the intuition to make longer sentences and to use the adverbs of frequency in the middle or at the end of the sentences. However, in order to avoid mistakes, it is better that you place the frequency adverb at the beginning of the sentence or just after the subject, at least at the beginning of our learning. 

Summary

Adverb of frequency	Adverb in Spanish
Always 100%	Siempre
Almost always 90%	Casi siempre
Usually, generally, normally 80%	Usualmente, generalmente, normalmente
Often 70%	A menudo
Sometimes 50%	A veces / algunas veces
Once in a while 30 %	De vez en cuando
Seldom, rarely, hardly ever 15%	Rara vez, pocas veces, casi nunca
Never 0%	Nunca

Practice time

Now it is your turn to practice.

In these exercises, you will fill in the blanks with the corresponding adverbs of frequency in Spanish.

Here’s an example of how the exercises work:

• I always do exercise in the morning.
  Yo siempre hago ejercicio en las mañanas.

Let’s practice

1. Once in a while I like to cook.
________  me gusta cocinar.

2. Walter never loses at chess.
Walter _______ pierde en el ajedrez.

3. Daniel hardly ever dances at the parties, he’s very shy.
______ Daniel baila en las fiestas, es muy tímido.

4. I usually wake up at seven in the morning.
________ me levanto a las siete de la mañana.

5. Maria and I almost always eat at home.
María y yo ________ comemos en casa.

6.  I  seldom drink beer.
_______ bebo cerveza.

7. She studies Spanish once a day.
Ella estudia Español _______ al día

8. I often go to work by bike.
______ voy al trabajo en bicicleta.

9. I’m sorry but sometimes you are unbearable.
Lo siento, pero _______ eres insoportable.

10. I always remind you.
Yo _______ te recuerdo.

Final words

Now that you know the adverbs of frequency, you just need to put them into practice. Think about the things you like to do often or how often you exercise, go out to parties, or eat with your family, and try to use adverbs of frequency in Spanish, in simple sentences.

Remember that the degree of frequency is always approximated and that the suggested percentages are only a guide for learning.

With practice, you will be able to create longer and more complex sentences.

Check out our series of Complete Spanish Grammar articles – everything you’ll ever need to know about Spanish grammar.

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Answers

1. Once in a while I like to cook.
De vez en cuando me gusta cocinar.

2. Walter never loses at chess.
Walter nunca pierde en el ajedrez.

3. Hardly ever Daniel dances at the parties, he’s very shy.
Casi nunca Daniel baila en las fiestas, es muy tímido.

4. I usually wake up at seven in the morning.
Usualmente me levanto a las siete de la mañana.

5. Maria and I almost always eat at home.
María y yo casi siempre comemos en casa.

6. Seldom I drink beer.
Rara vez bebo cerveza.

7. She studies Spanish once a day.
Ella estudia Español una vez al día.

8. I often go to work by bike.
A menudo voy al trabajo en bicicleta.

9. I’m sorry but sometimes you are unbearable.
Lo siento, pero a veces eres insoportable.

10. I always remind you
Yo siempre te recuerdo.

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