Adverbs of frequency in French

Where they go

Short adverbs usually go straight after the verb, not before it as in English:

• Je bois toujours du café. — I always drink coffee.
• Je regarde rarement la télé.

parfois and d'habitude can also start the sentence: Parfois, je prends le bus.

ne … jamais

"Never" comes in two parts around the verb: Je ne mange jamais de viande. In casual speech, the ne is often dropped.

encore and toujours

Both can mean "still": Tu es encore au travail ? — Are you still at work? toujours mainly means "always".

Practise with flashcards

Every word on this page, with its pronunciation and an example sentence, is in the deck below. Add it to your decks and Echoes will bring each card back just before you would forget it.