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ADVERBS OF TIME
Adverbs of time tell us
when an action happened, but also for how long,
and how often.
Examples:
- When: today,
yesterday, later, now, last year
- For how long:
all day, not long, for a while, since last year
- How often:
sometimes, frequently, never, often, yearly
"When" adverbs are
usually placed at the end of the sentence:
- Goldilocks went to the
Bears' house yesterday.
- I'm going to tidy my
room tomorrow.
This is a "neutral"
position, but some "when" adverbs can be put in other
positions to give a different emphasis
Compare:
- Later
Goldilocks ate some porridge. (the time is more important)
- Goldilocks later
ate some porridge. (this is more formal, like a policeman's report)
- Goldilocks ate some
porridge later. (this is neutral, no particular emphasis)
"For how long"
adverbs are usually placed at the end of the sentence:
- She stayed in the Bears'
house all day.
- My mother lived in
France for a year.
Notice:
'for'
is always followed by an expression of duration:
- for three
days,
- for a week,
- for several
years,
- for two centuries.
'since' is
always followed by an expression of a point in time:
- since Monday,
- since 1997,
- since the last war.
"How often" adverbs
expressing the frequency of an action are usually placed
before the main verb but after auxiliary verbs (such as be, have, may,
must):
- I often
eat vegetarian food. (before the main verb)
- He never
drinks milk. (before the main verb)
- You must always
fasten your seat belt. (after the auxiliary must)
- She is never
sea-sick.(after the auxiliary is)
- I have never
forgotten my first kiss. (after the auxiliary have and before the
main verb forgotten)
Some other "how often"
adverbs express the exact number of times an action happens
and are usually placed at the end of the sentence:
- This magazine is
published monthly.
- He visits his mother
once a week.
When a frequency
adverb is placed at the end of a sentence it is much stronger.
Compare:
- She regularly
visits France.
- She visits France
regularly.
Adverbs that can be used in
these two positions:
- frequently,
- generally,
- normally,
- occasionally,
- often,
- regularly,
- sometimes,
- usually
'Yet'
and
'still'
Yet
is used in
questions and in negative sentences, and is placed at the end of the
sentence or after not.
- Have you finished your
work yet? (= a simple request for information) No,
not yet. (= simple negative answer)
- They haven't met him
yet. (= simple negative statement)
- Haven't you finished
yet? (= expressing slight surprise)
Still
expresses continuity; it is used in positive sentences and questions, and
is placed before the main verb and after auxiliary verbs (such
as be, have, might, will)
- I am still
hungry.
- She is still
waiting for you
- Are you still
here?
- Do you still
work for the BBC?
ORDER OF ADVERBS
OF TIME
If you need to use more
than one adverb of time at the end of a sentence, use them in this order:
1: 'how long'
2: 'how often'
3: 'when' (think of 'low')
Example:
- 1 + 2 : I work (1)
for five hours (2) every day
- 2 + 3 : The magazine was
published (2) weekly (3) last year.
- 1 + 3 : I was abroad (1)
for two months (3) last year.
- 1 + 2 + 3 : She worked
in a hospital (1) for two days (2) every week
(3) last year.
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