Expressions of Frequency

Indicating How Often Something Occurs

Chile desert

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How often do you study Spanish? Never? Once a day? Always?

Regardless, sooner or later you'll need to be able to answer such a question. Here are some, but certainly not all, of the common ways that Spanish indicates how often an event occurs:

nunca, jamás (never)

  • Examples: Nunca te olvidaré. (I will never forget you.) En mi casa jamás comemos carne. (In my house we never eat meat.)

casi nunca, casi jamás (almost never)

  • Examples: Casi nunca te he dicho que eres bella. (I have almost never told you that you're beautiful.) En el norte de Chile, donde casi jamás llueve, la situación es diferente. (In northern Chile, where it almost never rains, the situation is different.)

raras veces, raramente (seldom)

  • Examples: Estos efectos secundarios raras veces son severos. (These secondary effects are seldom severe.) Raramente pensamos en lo que tenemos. (We seldom think about what we have.)

de vez en cuando, ocasionalmente, a veces (occasionally, at times, sometimes, from time to time)

  • Examples: Es posible que de vez en cuando nuestras páginas tengan enlaces a sitios de terceros. (It is possible that sometimes our pages have links to third-party sites.) Le recomendamos que visite esta página ocasionalmente para verificar si está disponible. (We recommend that you visit this page occasionally in order to verify that it is available.) A veces ocurre. (Sometimes it happens.)

a menudo, frecuentemente, con frecuencia (frequently, often)

  • Examples: El cáncer de piel más mortal a menudo no se diagnostica. (The most deadly type of skin cancer is often not diagnosed.) La oficina de correos de Jerusalén recibe frecuentemente cartas dirigidas a Dios. (The post office in Jerusalem often receives letters sent to God.) Estos medicamentos con frecuencia se vuelven menos efectivos con el paso del tiempo.) (These medicines often become less effective over time.

cada ____ (each ____ )

  • Examples: Te ofrecemos cada día 25 fotos. (Each day we offer you 25 photos.) Este sitio se actualiza cada semana. (This site is updated each week.)

todos los ____, todas las ____ (every —)

  • Examples: La vacuna se prepara todos los años. (The vaccine is prepared every year.) Todas las noches yo estaba listo. (Every night I was ready.)

casi siempre (almost always)

  • Example: Casi siempre estoy pensando en ti. (I am almost always thinking about you.)

siempre, en todo caso (always, in every case)

  • Examples: Siempre vamos a estar con ellos. (We always go to be with them.) En todo caso, los niños debe hacer el deporte que más le guste. (Children should always do the sport they like best.)
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Erichsen, Gerald. "Expressions of Frequency." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/expressions-of-frequency-3079133. Erichsen, Gerald. (2023, April 5). Expressions of Frequency. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/expressions-of-frequency-3079133 Erichsen, Gerald. "Expressions of Frequency." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/expressions-of-frequency-3079133 (accessed March 29, 2024).