🔁 French Basic Vocabulary: Adverbs of Frequency (With Examples)
If you want to say how often something happens in French — always, often, sometimes, never — you need to know the adverbs of frequency (les adverbes de fréquence). These words are essential for everyday conversations and appear in almost every French dialogue.
This guide will give you the most useful French adverbs of frequency, how to use them, and examples to practice.
1. The Most Common French Adverbs of Frequency
| Adverb | English meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| toujours | always | Je suis toujours à l’heure. → I’m always on time. |
| souvent | often | Il voyage souvent en France. → He often travels to France. |
| parfois / quelquefois | sometimes | Parfois, je mange trop de chocolat. → Sometimes I eat too much chocolate. |
| rarement | rarely, seldom | Elle sort rarement le soir. → She rarely goes out in the evening. |
| jamais | never | Je ne regarde jamais la télé. → I never watch TV. |
2. Other Useful Adverbs of Frequency
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de temps en temps → from time to time
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fréquemment → frequently
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habituellement / d’habitude → usually
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quotidiennement → daily
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chaque jour / chaque semaine → every day / every week
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normalement → normally
Examples:
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De temps en temps, nous allons au cinéma. → From time to time, we go to the movies.
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D’habitude, il prend le bus. → Usually, he takes the bus.
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Elle lit chaque soir avant de dormir. → She reads every evening before sleeping.
3. Word Order: Where to Place Adverbs of Frequency
Most adverbs of frequency are placed after the verb in simple tenses:
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Je mange souvent au restaurant. → I often eat at restaurants.
With compound tenses (like passé composé), they usually go between the auxiliary and the past participle:
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J’ai toujours aimé Paris. → I have always loved Paris.
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Je n’ai jamais visité Rome. → I have never visited Rome.
4. Special Note on “Jamais”
To say never, French uses a double negative:
👉 ne + verbe + jamais
Examples:
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Je ne fume jamais. → I never smoke.
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Il n’est jamais en retard. → He is never late.
5. Examples in Sentences
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Je fais toujours mes devoirs. → I always do my homework.
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Nous sortons souvent le week-end. → We often go out on weekends.
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Parfois, il pleut en été. → Sometimes it rains in summer.
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Elle est rarement malade. → She is rarely sick.
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Je ne mange jamais de viande. → I never eat meat.
✅ Quick Recap
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Always = toujours
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Often = souvent
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Sometimes = parfois / quelquefois
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Rarely = rarement
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Never = ne… jamais
Adverbs of frequency are used after the verb (or between auxiliary + past participle).
🎯 Practice Exercise
Translate into French using the correct adverb of frequency:
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I always eat breakfast.
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He is never late.
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We sometimes watch TV.
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They rarely travel.
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She often goes to the library.
Conclusion
Adverbs of frequency in French are essential for describing your habits, routines, and daily life. By mastering words like toujours, souvent, parfois, jamais, you’ll sound more natural and fluent in French conversations.
👉 Pro tip: Try to add at least one adverb of frequency whenever you describe your daily routine in French.
TAGS:
- French adverbs of frequency
- Basic French vocabulary
- How to say always, never, sometimes in French
- French grammar adverbs with examples
- Everyday French expressions for beginners