Los adverbios de tiempo y frecuencia (Adverbs of Time and Frequency)

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Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They provide additional information about how, when, where, or how often an action occurs. In this section, we will focus on adverbios de tiempo (adverbs of time) and adverbios de frecuencia (adverbs of frequency).

Adverbios de tiempo

The following adverbs indicate when an action happens:

• ahora

• now

• antes de

• before

• después de

• after

• luego

• then, after

• ya

• already

• todavía

• yet, still

• ayer

• yesterday

• hoy

• today

• mañana

• tomorrow

The adverbs above can be placed before or after the verb:

• Mañana es mi cumpleaños. 🎂

• Tomorrow is my birthday.

• Mi cumpleaños es mañana. 🎂

• My birthday is tomorrow.

Note on antes de and después de:

When these adverbial phrases are followed by a verb, the infinitive (base form) is used:

• Después de comer, siempre lavo los platos. 🍽️ 🧽

• After eating, I always wash the dishes.

• Tú te cepillas los dientes antes de desayunar. 🪥🦷

• You brush your teeth before having breakfast.

Adverbios de frecuencia

These adverbs indicate how often an action happens:

• siempre

• always

• casi siempre

• almost always

• a menudo

• often

• con frecuencia

• frequently

• a veces

• sometimes

• casi nunca

• hardly ever

• nunca

• never

Here are some examples in context:

• Casi nunca como comida rápida, pero a veces como McDonald 's. 🍔

• I hardly ever eat fast food but sometimes I eat McDonald’s.

• Elle va al supermercado a menudo. 🛒🍎

• They go to the supermarket often.

Notes on word order:

1. Siempre and nunca usually go before the verb:

• Siempre estudio español. 📚🤓

• I always study Spanish.

• Nunca como carne. 🙅🥩

• I never eat meat.

2. With negative sentences, nunca can go before or after the verb, but when it follows the verb, no is required:

• No como carne nunca. ❌🥩

• I never eat meat.

3. Other frequency adverbs (a veces, a menudo, etc.) can appear at the beginning or end of the sentence:

• A veces voy al restaurante. 🤷

• Sometimes I go to the restaurant.

• Voy al restaurante a veces. 🤷

• I go to the restaurant sometimes.

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