Français — Adverbs of time and frequency
Adverbs like toujours, souvent, parfois, rarement, jamais, déjà, encore, tôt and tard say how often or when an action happens. Their position depends on the tense.
How it works
In simple tenses the short adverb usually comes right after the conjugated verb: Il est toujours en retard, Nous mangeons souvent dehors. In the passé composé it slips between the auxiliary and the past participle: J'ai déjà fini. Jamais needs ne with the verb: Il ne boit jamais de café. Time adverbs like tôt and tard, and parfois, can also open the sentence: Parfois, je prends le bus.
Examples
| Adverb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| toujours | always | Il est toujours en retard. |
| souvent | often | Nous mangeons souvent dehors. |
| parfois | sometimes | Parfois, je prends le bus. |
| rarement | rarely | Elle sort rarement le soir. |
| ne… jamais | never | Il ne boit jamais de café. |
| déjà | already | J'ai déjà fini. |
| encore | still / yet | Tu es encore là ? |
| tôt / tard | early / late | Je me lève tôt, ils rentrent tard. |
Good to know
Unlike English, French does not put a frequency adverb between the subject and a simple verb: say Il mange souvent ici, not the word-for-word Il souvent mange. Longer adverbs such as rarement and généralement can move to the start or end of the clause, but toujours, souvent, déjà and encore stay close to the verb.