ESL Lesson: A day in my life. - Adverbs of Frequency

by Ajarn Charlie
Exercise 1. Read the following magazine article about Tanya Philips, who is a presenter on breakfast television in Britain. What time do you think her day starts and finishes?

My Working Day

My working day starts very early. From Monday to Friday I get up at half past three and I have a shower and a cup of coffee. I usually leave the house at ten past four because the car always arrives a few minutes early. I get to the studio at about five o'clock and start work. Good Morning Britain starts at seven o'clock and finishes at nine o'clock. Then I leave the studio at a quarter past ten. After that, I get home at three o'clock. A woman helps me with the housework and the ironing. I read the newspaper and do some work. Then my husband gets home at half past five in the afternoon and I cook dinner. We stay at home in the evening. We don't go out because I go to bed very early. We usually watch television and then I go to bed at half past eight. I'm usually asleep by nine o'clock. At weekends, I don't get up until ten o'clock. In the evening, we often see some friends or go to the cinema. But I'm always up early again on Monday morning.

Exercise 2. Decide where these sentences go in the article.

1. After the programme we always have breakfast and relax.
2. I often go shopping and have lunch with friends.
3. We usually have dinner quite early, at seven o'clock.

Exercise 3. Ask the questions you think the journalist asked the presenter.

example: What time do you get up?

Grammar Help Box

Present Simple : saying how often you do things You use the present simple and the following adverbs of frequency to say how often you do things. 100% sure_______ always usually often sometimes never________________0% sure. You usually put the adverb before the verb. I always get up at seven o'clock. - I often have a drink with my friends. - I never do the laundry. Prepositions of time at: at seven o'clock at half past eight at the weekend on: on Sunday on Tuesday on Monday morning from...to: from Monday to Friday - from seven to nine

Exercise 4. Look at the verbs in the article again. How many have -s endings?

Exercise 5. Put the adverbs in brackets in the correct position.

1. I get up at seven o'clock (usually).
2. I do the ironing. (never)
3. She has a drink with her friends. (often)
4. He goes to bed at eleven o'clock. (sometimes)
5. I'm asleep at midnight. (usually)
6. I'm up at five o'clock in the morning. (never)

Exercise 6. Complete the sentences with a preposition of time.

1. We work _______ Monday ______ Friday.
2. The film starts _______ eight o'clock.
3. He leaves home ______ eight o'clock.
4. I do the housework _________ the evening.
5. She does the ironing __________ Monday.
6. We usually go out ___________ Friday evening.

Exercise 7. Fill in the blanks using the following adverbs of frequency:
***** always never often sometimes *****

1. I ______________ go to work by car. I can't drive.
2. I ______________ go on vacation in July and I _______________ go in August. It depends.
3. I _____________ answer the phone. I'm the only person in the office.
4. Joe Louis has customers in over thirty countries. He ____________ travels on business.
5. Roger is always on time. He's __________ late.
6. I _____________ have lunch in a restaurant, but not very _____________.

Exercise 8. Match the pairs.

1. Do you ever do overtime?	A. No, never. I do it at the airport.
2. Do you often visit customers.	B. Yes, I'm her assistant.
3. Do you normally drive to work?	C. Yes, I often work long hours.
4. Do you always change your money in a bank?	D. Yes, I get up early every morning.
5. Do you always go to bed before ten?	E. No, never. I always walk.
6. Do you often travel by plane?	F. Yes, often. I'm a salesperson.
7. Do you ever speak Spanish at work?	G. Yes, I fly every week.
8. Do you often speak to the president?	H. Sometimes. We have customers in Mexico.

Exercise 9. Make complete sentences.

1. Peter uses the computer. (often) ____________________________________
2. Does your boss visit customers? (sometimes)____________________________________
3. I have a short lunch break. (normally) ____________________________________
4. It's difficult to organize meetings. (sometimes)___________________________________
5. That train is late. (often) ____________________________________
6. I drink white wine for breakfast. (never) ____________________________________
7. He finishes his reports on time. (always) ____________________________________
8. Which hotel do you stay in? (usually) ____________________________________

Exercise 10. Answer the following questions.

1. Do you like your job? _______________________________________________________
2. Who makes a lot of photocopies in your office? __________________________________
3. Who's the boss in your department? ___________________________________________
4. When do you do most of your paperwork? ______________________________________
5. Do you usually answer the phone for your office? ________________________________
6. What do you do in your office? _______________________________________________

Exercise 11. - Answer the questions for you.

1. Do you work full-time or part-time? _____________________________________________
2. How many hours a week do you work? __________________________________________
3. Do you ever travel on business? ________________________________________________
4. Do you like paperwork? _______________________________________________________
5. Do you often write reports? ____________________________________________________
6. Do you ever drive a truck? ____________________________________________________
7. What do you do when you get to the office in the morning? ____________________________________________________
8. Who answers the phone in your office? ___________________________________________
9. Do you ever work on Saturdays? ________________________________________________
10. What time do you normally finish work? __________________________________________

Helpful Hint: Many English speakers, (especially Americans) use less precise words than many Germans when describing events and times. Below is a "scale" of their use from very strong to very weak.

always frequently often normally usually sometimes seldom rarely never