adverbes de fréquence grammar in French

Language: French
Level: A1
Unit: Prépositions et adverbes
Practice types: 0

What this grammar point covers

Adverbes de fréquence are words in French that tell us how often something happens. They answer the question 'How often?'.

When to use it

Use adverbes de fréquence in French to talk about your habits, routines, or how often you do something. They help describe activities that happen regularly or occasionally.

Key forms

toujours (always)
souvent (often)
parfois (sometimes)
rarement (rarely)
jamais (never)
quelquefois (sometimes)

Examples

Je mange toujours du pain le matin.

English: I always eat bread in the morning.

Nous allons souvent au cinéma.

English: We often go to the cinema.

Elle ne regarde jamais la télévision.

English: She never watches television.

Parfois, il fait du sport après l’école.

English: Sometimes, he does sports after school.

Tips

In French, adverbes de fréquence usually come after the verb.
With negative sentences, 'jamais' replaces 'pas' (e.g., 'Je ne mange jamais de viande.').
Be careful with word order: do not put the adverb at the end of the sentence as in English.

Exceptions and edge cases

With compound tenses (like passé composé), most frequency adverbs come between the auxiliary verb and the past participle (e.g., 'J'ai toujours aimé le chocolat.').