Frequency Adverbs in all English Tenses | I'm always doing!??

Can we say: I'm always doing.

Or: I've always done?

Hello and welcome everyone, this is Minoo at Anglo-Link.

We often think that the frequency adverbs like 'always', 'sometimes', 'often'

must be used with the Present Simple tense.

But in fact, we can use them with other tenses too.

In this lesson, we will review them with all the tenses

to find out which ones we can use them with, and which ones we can't.

As always, we'll end the lesson with the typical conversation

to put all of it into context for you.

Okay! Let's look at different tenses starting with...

Present Simple.

Yes, we can use these words with the Present Simple tense

when this tense refers to current facts and habits which are likely to continue.

For example: I always buy this brand.

Or: She often has this problem.

Or: This doesn't usually happen.

What about Present Perfect?

Yes, we can use these words with Present Perfect

when the tense refers to facts and habits until now,

and these facts or habits may not continue.

For example, we can say:

I have always bought this brand.

Maybe I won't in the future.

She has never had this problem.

Maybe she will in the future.

This has sometimes been the case,

until now.

We don't know if it will be or not in the future.

How about Past Simple?

Yes, for facts and habits in the past.

For example:

When we were younger, I always bought this brand.

Or: I always used to buy this brand.

When we were younger, She rarely had this problem.

When we were younger, this was seldom the case.

So, these things were true in the past, not anymore.

How about Past Perfect?

Yes, we can use these even with the Past Perfect tense.

And there we would be referring to facts and habits in the far past.

For example:

Before we met, I had always bought this brand.

Or: Before we met, she had often had that problem.

Or: Before we met, this had sometimes been the case.

How about future tenses?

Yes, we can use these words for potential facts or habits in the future.

But, we usually use these with either Future Simple or 'going to'.

Don't use them with other future tenses.

So, we can say: I will always remember that. Future Simple

Or: She is never going to get a dog. Going to future.

How about continuous tenses?

For example, Present or Past Continuous?

The answer is... No! Except with the word 'always'.

When we use 'always' with the Present or Past Continuous tenses,

we want to show that we are annoyed, or we were annoyed with the action.

For example: He is always asking me for money.

You are annoyed.

When she was at university, she was always moaning about her teachers.

So, we never use frequency adverbs like  'sometimes', 'often', 'rarely', 'never'

with continuous tenses. Except with the word 'always'.

So, how about Perfect Continuous tenses

like 'have been doing' and 'had been doing'?

No, never use these frequency adverbs with 'have been doing' or 'had been doing'.

Right! Let's put all of that together in a typical conversation.

Jess, why do you always leave the lights on?

I don't! Why are you always blaming me for these things?

Because I have often found the lights left on in your room.

What about Kevin? He never remembers to switch off the TV.

Don't exaggerate! Kevin is rarely home.

Fair enough! I'll try harder, but I can't promise that I won't sometimes forget.

Right! That brings us to the end of this lesson.

If you would like a complete review of all English tenses,

you can watch this lesson.

Remember to check out my online course at Anglo-Link.com

for lots of lessons and exercises on all topics.

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Thanks a lot for watching, and see you very soon.

Goodbye for now.