Adverbs of frequency answer ¿Con qué frecuencia? (How often?):
Siempre desayuno a las ocho. (I always have breakfast at eight.)
A veces como en un restaurante. (Sometimes I eat at a restaurant.)
Nunca bebo café por la noche. (I never drink coffee at night.)
Quick rule: most frequency adverbs go before the verb or at the start of the sentence.
From always to never:
| siempre | always |
| casi siempre | almost always |
| normalmente | normally / usually |
| a menudo | often |
| a veces | sometimes |
| casi nunca | hardly ever |
| nunca | never |
Frequency adverbs are flexible, but the most natural spots are:
Start: Normalmente ceno a las nueve.
Before the verb: Yo siempre estudio por la tarde.
End: Voy al gimnasio a veces.
Unlike English, Spanish never squeezes the adverb between subject and a "do/does" helper — there is no helper verb.
Nunca can be used two ways:
1. Before the verb: Nunca como pescado. (I never eat fish.)
2. After with "no": No como pescado nunca. (Same meaning — double negative is correct Spanish!)
Important: if nunca goes after the verb, you must add "no" before the verb. "Como pescado nunca" alone is wrong.
Combine adverbs with these expressions to describe routines:
todos los días (every day) — Estudio todos los días.
una vez a la semana (once a week) — Nado una vez a la semana.
dos veces al mes (twice a month) — Visito a mis abuelos dos veces al mes.
los lunes (on Mondays) — Los lunes tengo clase de inglés.
Note: "los + day" = every week on that day. No preposition needed (not "en los lunes").
Questions and natural answers:
— ¿Con qué frecuencia haces deporte? (How often do you do sport?)
— Tres veces a la semana. (Three times a week.)
— ¿Vas mucho al cine? (Do you go to the cinema a lot?)
— No, casi nunca voy. (No, I hardly ever go.)
mucho (a lot) and poco (rarely/little) go after the verb: Viajo poco.
Traps for English speakers
These are the errors English speakers make most often.