Understanding Frequency Adverbs
French frequency adverbs express how often an action occurs. They answer the question "combien de fois?" (how many times?) or "à quelle fréquence?" (how frequently?).
These adverbs are essential for describing habits, routines, and recurring actions in French.
Frequency adverbs have specific placement rules and some require special negation patterns.
Examples
Je mange toujours à midi. (I always eat at noon.)
Expressing a regular habit
Elle ne sort jamais le soir. (She never goes out in the evening.)
Expressing absence of action
Nous voyageons parfois en été. (We sometimes travel in summer.)
Expressing occasional action
High Frequency Adverbs
Adverbs expressing frequent or constant actions:
TOUJOURS (Always)
Expresses actions that happen 100% of the time:
Il est toujours en retard. (He is always late.)
Elle dit toujours la vérité. (She always tells the truth.)
Nous prenons toujours le métro. (We always take the metro.)
Tu arrives toujours à l'heure. (You always arrive on time.)
SOUVENT (Often)
Expresses frequent but not constant actions:
Je vais souvent au cinéma. (I often go to the movies.)
Il pleut souvent en automne. (It often rains in autumn.)
Elle mange souvent des légumes. (She often eats vegetables.)
Nous parlons souvent français. (We often speak French.)
FRÉQUEMMENT (Frequently)
More formal way to express frequent actions:
Il voyage fréquemment pour le travail. (He frequently travels for work.)
Elle utilise fréquemment l'ordinateur. (She frequently uses the computer.)
Medium Frequency Adverbs
Adverbs expressing occasional or moderate frequency:
PARFOIS (Sometimes)
Expresses occasional actions:
Je lis parfois le journal. (I sometimes read the newspaper.)
Il pleut parfois en été. (It sometimes rains in summer.)
Nous sortons parfois le weekend. (We sometimes go out on weekends.)
Elle boit parfois du café. (She sometimes drinks coffee.)
QUELQUEFOIS (Sometimes)
Synonym of parfois, slightly more formal:
Il vient quelquefois nous voir. (He sometimes comes to see us.)
Je mange quelquefois au restaurant. (I sometimes eat at restaurants.)
DE TEMPS EN TEMPS (From Time to Time)
Expresses infrequent but regular occurrence:
Elle appelle de temps en temps. (She calls from time to time.)
Nous voyageons de temps en temps. (We travel from time to time.)
Low Frequency and Negative Adverbs
Adverbs expressing rare or absent actions:
RAREMENT (Rarely/Seldom)
Expresses infrequent actions:
Il sort rarement le soir. (He rarely goes out in the evening.)
Elle mange rarement de la viande. (She rarely eats meat.)
Nous voyons rarement nos voisins. (We rarely see our neighbors.)
Tu arrives rarement en retard. (You rarely arrive late.)
JAMAIS (Never)
Expresses complete absence of action - requires NE:
Je ne fume jamais. (I never smoke.)
Elle ne ment jamais. (She never lies.)
Il n'arrive jamais à l'heure. (He never arrives on time.)
Nous ne mangeons jamais de fast-food. (We never eat fast food.)
NE...PLUS (No Longer/Not Anymore)
Expresses cessation of a previous habit:
Je ne fume plus. (I no longer smoke/I don't smoke anymore.)
Il ne vient plus nous voir. (He doesn't come to see us anymore.)
Frequency Scale and Comparison
French frequency adverbs on a scale from most to least frequent:
Frequency Scale
From always to never:
Frequency Scale (100% → 0%)
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| toujours | 100% | always |
| souvent | ~80% | often |
| parfois/quelquefois | ~50% | sometimes |
| de temps en temps | ~30% | from time to time |
| rarement | ~10% | rarely |
| jamais | 0% | never |
Comparative Examples
Comparing different frequencies:
Il mange toujours des légumes, elle en mange souvent. (He always eats vegetables, she often eats them.)
Comparing high frequencies
Je sors parfois, mais lui ne sort jamais. (I sometimes go out, but he never goes out.)
Comparing medium and zero frequency
Placement of Frequency Adverbs
Frequency adverbs follow standard adverb placement rules:
Examples
Simple tenses: Je mange toujours à midi. (I always eat at noon.)
After conjugated verb
Compound tenses: J'ai souvent mangé ici. (I have often eaten here.)
Between auxiliary and past participle
Placement in Different Tenses
How frequency adverbs are placed:
Present: Elle vient souvent. (She often comes.)
Imperfect: Elle venait souvent. (She used to come often.)
Passé composé: Elle est souvent venue. (She has often come.)
Future: Elle viendra souvent. (She will often come.)
Emphasis and Beginning Position
Frequency adverbs can start sentences for emphasis:
Souvent, je pense à toi. (Often, I think of you.)
Parfois, il pleut en été. (Sometimes, it rains in summer.)
Expressions of Specific Frequency
More specific ways to express frequency:
Examples
une fois par semaine (once a week)
deux fois par mois (twice a month)
tous les jours (every day)
chaque matin (every morning)
Numerical Frequency
Expressing exact frequency:
Je vais au gym trois fois par semaine. (I go to the gym three times a week.)
Il appelle une fois par jour. (He calls once a day.)
Regular Intervals
Expressing regular patterns:
tous les lundis (every Monday)
chaque année (every year)
toutes les deux heures (every two hours)
une semaine sur deux (every other week)
Common Frequency Adverb Mistakes
Here are frequent errors students make:
1. Missing negation: Forgetting ne with jamais
2. Wrong placement: Incorrect position in compound tenses
3. Overuse of toujours: Using always when often is more appropriate
4. Confusion with time: Mixing frequency and time adverbs
Examples
❌ Je jamais mange → ✅ Je ne mange jamais
Wrong: must include ne with jamais
❌ J'ai mangé souvent → ✅ J'ai souvent mangé
Wrong: frequency adverbs go between auxiliary and participle
❌ Je vais toujours au cinéma (once a month) → ✅ Je vais parfois au cinéma
Wrong: toujours means 100% of the time
❌ Je mange hier souvent → ✅ Hier, j'ai souvent mangé
Wrong: don't mix time (hier) and frequency (souvent)