Unit 12: Say More with Verbs
How often? How? How much?
Make your sentences more informative while practising the tenses you already know.
Start here — How often?
Look at the scale. Always means 100% of the time; never means 0%. What about the words in between? The percentages are suggestions, not fixed rules. Decide what seems right to you.
Discuss it!
Choose a percentage for each statement. You can disagree — explain why.
- It rains in the UK.
- I drink tea or coffee.
- I check my phone.
- I cook at home.
- I walk for exercise.
Now make the statements personal. For example: It usually rains in the UK. — I sometimes drink coffee.
Ask your partner: “How often does it rain where you live?” “How often do you drink tea or coffee?” “How often do you cook?”
You can discuss how often it rains in the UK generally, or how often it rains in your own town. For questions about drinking, learners can choose any drink they feel comfortable talking about.
Step 1 — How often?
Now look at some examples. People do some things every day; they do other things only sometimes.
I always have breakfast.
I usually walk to work.
I often phone my sister.
I sometimes cook dinner.
I never drink coffee at night.
These adverbs tell us how often something happens. They are useful with the present simple, especially when we talk about routines.
Step 2 — How?
Adverbs of manner tell us how someone does something. A teacher can demonstrate these actions, or learners can mime them.
He walks slowly.
She runs quickly.
Please listen carefully.
He speaks English well.
She plays tennis badly.
Many adverbs of manner end in -ly, but not all do: well is the adverb related to good.
Try it — Leo's school report
Read the teacher's comments. Then answer the questions using an adverb of manner.
| Subject | Teacher's comment |
|---|---|
| Maths | A slow worker |
| English | Poor work |
| History | A quick learner |
| Geography | Good work |
| French | A careful worker |
How did Leo do in Maths? — He worked slowly.
How did he do in English? — He did badly.
How did he do in History? — He learned quickly.
How did he do in Geography? — He did well.
How did he work in French? — He worked carefully.
Notice the words
| Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|
| slow | slowly |
| bad | badly |
| quick | quickly |
| good | well |
| careful | carefully |
Now you try: Write a short report for an imaginary learner. Choose three subjects and describe how the learner works or performs. Ask a partner questions beginning “How did …?”
Step 3 — How much? How strong?
Adverbs of degree make a description stronger or weaker.
It is very cold.
The film was really good.
The exam was extremely difficult.
The room is quite small.
The tea is too hot.
He is not old enough to drive.
Very, really and extremely strengthen a description. Quite can make it less strong. Too means more than is wanted or suitable. Enough means as much as is needed, and usually comes after an adjective.
I'm hungry. → I'm extremely hungry. I could eat ten pizzas!
Leo is tired. → He's extremely tired. He could sleep for a hundred years!
The bag is heavy. → It's extremely heavy. It weighs a ton!
The exam was difficult. → It was extremely difficult. Even a genius couldn't answer the questions!
Now invent the funniest exaggeration you can. Keep the grammar clear, but let your imagination run wild.
Step 4 — Use the tenses you know
Adverbials can be used with different tenses. Notice how the verb changes while the extra information makes the sentence more precise.
Present simple — routines
I usually walk to work.
She often cooks dinner carefully.
Present continuous — happening now
I am writing carefully.
They are speaking very quietly.
Past simple — finished actions
Yesterday, I walked slowly because I was tired.
Last night, we really enjoyed the film.
Adverbs do not replace the tense. The verb tells us about the time; the adverbial adds information about frequency, manner or degree.
Step 5 — Complete the sentences
Choose the best word from the options in brackets. Type the word in the gap and check your answer.
1. I ______ get up at seven. (usually / carefully)
2. Please drive ______. (carefully / never)
3. The soup is ______ hot. I can't eat it yet. (too / often)
4. Tom speaks French very ______. (well / usually)
5. She is ______ late for class; she is always on time. (never / quickly)
6. The room is big ______ for twenty people. (enough / carefully)
Step 6 — Make the sentence more informative
Choose the adverbial that best completes each sentence.
1. Maria is a careful driver. She drives ______.
2. I do this every day. I ______ do it.
3. This coffee is hotter than I want. It is ______ hot.
4. The children are making very little noise. They are speaking ______.
Step 7 — A busy day
Nadia usually gets up early on weekdays. She quickly eats breakfast and carefully packs her bag. She often walks to the bus stop, but today it is raining, so she is waiting inside a café. The bus is moving very slowly. Nadia is a little worried because she has an important meeting. Yesterday, she arrived on time and spoke confidently. Today, she hopes the bus will arrive soon. She doesn't want to be too late!
Find examples of:
- two adverbs of frequency;
- two adverbs of manner;
- two adverbs of degree;
- one present continuous verb phrase;
- one past simple verb phrase.
Check your answers
- Frequency: usually, often.
- Manner: quickly, carefully, confidently.
- Degree: very, a little, too.
- Present continuous: is raining, is waiting, is moving.
- Past simple: arrived, spoke.
Step 8 — Talk and write
Ask a partner the questions. Give answers that are true for you.
- How often do you cook?
- How do you usually travel to work, school or the shops?
- What do you do carefully?
- What food is too hot or too cold for you?
- What did you do yesterday quickly?
- What are you doing at the moment?
Now write five or six sentences about a typical day. Use at least two adverbs of frequency and two adverbs of manner. Add a sentence about yesterday or what you are doing now.