Adverbs of Frequency – JSS3 English Lesson Note (First Term)

An adverb of frequency tells us how often something happens.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. define adverbs of frequency and give examples of definite and indefinite ones;
2. place adverbs of frequency correctly in sentences with one verb, with more than one verb, and in questions and negatives;
3. complete sentences with the correct adverb of frequency and word order;
4. say which syllable is stressed in given words, including the verb and noun forms of words such as record and permit;
5. describe how intonation differs in statements and questions.

What are adverbs of frequency?

Adverbs of frequency are adverbs of time that say how often something happens.

• Use: they show routine or repeated activities.
• Tense: they are often used with the present simple tense.
• Number of kinds: there are two kinds, definite and indefinite.

What is definite frequency?

An adverb of definite frequency gives an exact time frame.

• Hourly: every hour, as in “The incubator turns each egg hourly.”
• Daily: every day, as in “She sweeps the compound daily.”
• Weekly: every week, as in “We have a spelling test weekly.”
• Monthly: every month, as in “The class pays dues monthly.”
• Yearly or annually: every year, as in “Our school holds its sports day yearly.”
• Phrases: once a week, twice daily, every Monday, at least once annually.

What is indefinite frequency?

An adverb of indefinite frequency does not give an exact time frame.

The table lists common ones from most frequent to least frequent.

Where do adverbs of frequency go in a sentence?

An adverb of frequency usually goes before the main verb, but it follows the verb “to be”.

What other rules should you know?

• Sentence openers: sometimes, usually and often can begin a sentence, as in “Sometimes we play football after school.”
• Definite adverbs: they usually come at the end, as in “He visits us weekly.”
• Never: it already means “not”, so do not add another negative word to it.
• Questions with how often: “How often do you read?” is answered with an adverb of frequency.

What are more examples of adverbs of frequency?

Each sentence contains an adverb of frequency, shown in italics.

1. The incubator turns each egg hourly.
2. We take a vacation at least once annually.
3. I usually shop for groceries on Saturday mornings.
4. He is often late for work.
5. We seldom see John.
6. My dentist told me I should floss twice daily.

What are stress and intonation?

Stress and intonation are the features of speech that give English its rhythm and meaning.

What is stress?

Stress is the emphasis given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence.

• Loudness: stressed syllables are louder than unstressed ones.
• Length: they are longer.
• Pitch: they have a higher pitch.
• Rhythm: English is stress-timed, so stressed syllables come at a roughly steady tempo while unstressed syllables are shortened.
• Grammatical words: auxiliary verbs, prepositions, pronouns and articles usually receive no stress.
• Lexical words: nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs must have at least one stressed syllable.

The stressed syllable is in capitals in these words:

• HOLiday
• aLONE
• admiRAtion
• confiDENtial
• deGREE
• WEAKer
• NERvous
• PARents

How do you find out which syllable is stressed?

You find the stressed syllable by looking the word up in a dictionary that gives an IPA transcription.

• No fixed rule: there is no rule for which syllable is stressed in a word with more than one syllable.
• Learn by heart: you need to learn the stress of each new word.
• Stress mark: the symbol ˈ shows that the syllable after it is stressed.

Examples of IPA transcriptions:

• [ˈɡɑːdən] garden: the first syllable is stressed, GAR den.
• [ˈmedəʊ] meadow: the first syllable is stressed, MEA dow.
• [ˈmʌʃruːm] mushroom: the first syllable is stressed, MUSH room.
• [θəˈmɒmɪtə] thermometer: the second syllable is stressed, ther MOM e ter.
• [hjuːˈmɪdɪti] humidity: the second syllable is stressed, hu MI di ty.

Practise saying these words out loud several times.

How does stress change between verbs and nouns?

In many two-syllable words used as both verb and noun, the verb is stressed on the second syllable and the noun on the first.

What is intonation?

Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice (pitch) while speaking.

• Rising pitch: the voice rises at the end of an echo or declarative question, such as He found it on the street?
• Falling pitch in wh-questions: the voice falls at the end of a question such as Where did he find it?
• Falling pitch in statements: the voice falls at the end of a statement such as He found it on the street.
• Yes or no questions: a question such as Did he find it on the street? often ends with a rising pitch, but not always.
• Emphasis: stressing different words changes the meaning of the same sentence.

How does stressing a different word change meaning?

Say the sentence “I did not read anything about the disaster” six times, stressing a different word each time.

Evaluation

Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

1. I ________________ late on Saturdays.
   • A. Get up usually
   • B. Get usually up
   • C. Usually get up
2. Jared ______________ late for work.
   • A. Never is
   • B. Is never
3. _______________ on weekends?
   • A. Often do you travel
   • B. Do you often travel
   • C. Often you travel
4. Susan ________________ early for class.
   • A. Often is
   • B. Are often
   • C. Often are
   • D. Is often
5. When do you ____________ go on vacation each year?
   • A. Always
   • B. Never
   • C. Usually
   • D. Ever

Assignment

1. Write six sentences, each using a different adverb of frequency from this lesson, and place each adverb correctly. Then write the verb and noun forms of record, permit and export, and mark the stressed syllable in each.