Page 71 - English Vocabulary in Use Pre Intermediate

32 Adverbs: frequency and degree

Frequency (= how often)

seldom (fmil.)
regularly
always __ frequentl , sometimes occasionally __ hardly ever never
¥ q Y quite often
rarely
Note:
e Adverbs of frequency go before the main verb with the exception of the verb ‘to be’:

I occasionally see them. They hardly ever go to the cinema now.
She is often late these days. I’ve never tried Korean food.
¢ Sometimes, occasionally and often can go at the beginning or end of the sentence:
They go to the zoo quite often. I play tennis occasionally.
Sometimes my parents give me money. Occasionally I work at the weekend.

Degree (= how much)

positive OK negative

extremely very rather _ fairly slightly fairly rather very extremely
incredibly pretty quite a bit quite pretty incredibly

Note:
e Rather is more formal than the other words and often describes a negative situation:
We had rather bad weather. The food was rather expensive.
e For a positive situation, rather often indicates that something is better than we expected:
Her cooking is rather good actually. (I didn’t expect that, so it was a very nice surprise.
¢ Incredibly, pretty and a bit are informal and mostly used in spoken English; a bit is
mostly used before negative adjectives (not positive ones) or adjectives with a negative
prefix.
The food was pretty good. (= nearly ‘very’ good) ‘That Ferrari is incredibly expensive.
The hotel was a bit disappointing, actually. I thought she looked a bit unhappy.

Almost/nearly

It’s almost/nearly five o’clock. (= it is probably about 4.57)
I almost/nearly lost the match. (= I won but only just; only by a small amount)
Note: almost the same NOT quite the-same

Hardly
Hardly + a positive often has the same meaning as almost + a negative:
I hardly had anything to eat for lunch. (= I had almost nothing)
She could hardly walk after her operation. (= she almost couldn’t walk)
Note: In the above sentences you can also use barely with the same meaning.

68 English Vocabulary in Use (pre-intermediate & intermediate)