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Adverbs of Frequency by Sandra Rosenstiel

You're already familiar with the words mucho and poco. They are two of the most common adverbs of frequency. Adverbs modify verbs in the same way as adjectives modify nouns — they provide a little descriptive information. In the case of adverbs of frequency, they say how often something is done. Many adverbs end in the suffix -mente and are adaptations of the adjective form frecuente > frecuentemente. But there are plenty of adverbs that don't follow a specific pattern. Look at the following examples:

  • mucho (a lot, often)

  • poco (a little, not often)

  • bastante (a lot)

  • siempre (always)

  • nunca (never)

  • de vez en cuando (once in a while)

  • cada hora, mañana, día, otoño, etc. (each hour, morning, day, autumn, etc.)

  • todo el tiempo, el mes, etc. (all the time, all month, etc.)

  • toda la mañana, tarde, noche (all morning, afternoon, night)

  • todos los días, fines de semana, meses, años (every day, weekend, month, year)

  • todas las horas, mañanas, tardes, noches, semanas (every hour, morning, afternoon, night, week)

  • diariamente, semanalmente, mensualmente, anualmente (daily, weekly, monthly, annually)

  • (in)frecuentemente ([in]frecuently)

  • raramente (rarely)

  • periódicamente (periodically)

    • Notice that todo agrees in number and gender with the nouns that fol-low: todo el mes, toda la mañana, todos los días, todas las semanas. The adverb cada, however, remains the same regardless of the word or phrase that follows. Casi (almost) can precede many adverbs to modify their meaning slightly: casi siempre > almost always.

    Placement of Adverbs of Frequency

    Most adverbs of frequency are placed after the verb in Spanish. Say what you do and then say how often: Mis amigos y yo cocinamos bastante (My friends and I cook quite a lot). Mucho and poco always follow the verb except in deliberately poetic usage. There are some exceptions to this afterthe-verb placement norm, however. For example, the adverbs siempre, nunca, and raramente usually precede the verb: Elena siempre prepara pizza los viernes (Elena always prepares pizza on Fridays). Most adverbial phrases like de vez en cuando can either precede or follow a verb. In some cases, this is done to emphasize the frequency over the activity or vice versa. Let's look at some examples of adverb placement:

    Nuestros primos cantan en el coro todos los domingos.

    (Our cousins sing in the choir every Sunday.)

    Todos los domingos, nuestros primos cantan en el coro.

    (Every Sunday, our cousins sing in the choir.)

    Yo bailo poco, pero toco el violín mucho.

    (I dance little but I play the violin a lot.)

    Jaime siempre habla con su mamá cuando tiene un problema.

    (Jaime always talks to his mother when he has a problem.)

    The adverb nunca can precede the verb — Mis padres nunca montan en motocicleta (My parents never ride motorcycles) — or it can be placed at the end of the sentence for greater emphasis. In this case, you must make the verb negative as well: Mis padres no montan en motocicleta nunca (My parents don't ever ride motorcycles).

    Practice: How Often?

    Use the cues to make sentences saying how often each of these people do the activity specified. Use the answer key in Appendix D to check your work.

    • Nuestros tíos / salir al cine / todos los sábados

    • Mi sobrina / tejer / nunca

    • Tus nietos / no visitar / mucho

    • Mi esposo / trabajar con madera / de vez en cuando

    • La abuela / tomar su medicina / cada hora

    • Los niños / ver televisión / casi todos los días

    • La novia de Alejandro / llamar por teléfono / cada noche

    • Mi madrina / pinta / todos los fines de semana

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    3. Out and About: Verbs and Adverbs
    4. Adverbs of Frequency
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