Adverbs of Frequency: Always, Usually, Often, Never

Adverbs of frequency menjelaskan seberapa sering sesuatu terjadi. Kata-kata ini sering dipakai bersama simple present tense untuk membicarakan kebiasaan dan rutinitas.

Skala frekuensi

Adverb	Frekuensi kira-kira
always	100%
usually	~90%
often	~70%
sometimes	~50%
rarely / seldom	~10%
never	0%

• I always brush my teeth before bed.
• She usually walks to school.
• We sometimes eat out on weekends.
• He rarely watches TV.
• They never miss a deadline.

Posisi dalam kalimat

Ini bagian yang paling sering salah: adverb of frequency punya posisi khusus tergantung jenis kata kerjanya.

1. Sebelum kata kerja utama

Kalau kalimatnya memakai kata kerja biasa (bukan "to be"), adverb diletakkan sebelum kata kerja utama.

• I always drink coffee in the morning.
• She often forgets her keys.

2. Setelah "to be"

Kalau kalimatnya memakai to be (am/is/are/was/were), adverb diletakkan setelah-nya.

• He is always late.
• They are never on time.

3. Antara auxiliary verb dan kata kerja utama

Kalau kalimatnya punya auxiliary verb (has, have, will, can, does...), adverb diletakkan di antara auxiliary dan kata kerja utama.

• She has never been to Japan.
• We will always remember this trip.
• He doesn't usually eat breakfast.

Sometimes dan usually: fleksibel di awal/akhir kalimat

Beberapa adverb — terutama sometimes dan usually — juga bisa diletakkan di awal kalimat untuk penekanan.

• Sometimes, I skip breakfast.
• Usually, we go to the beach in summer.

Kesalahan umum

• ❌ "I drink always coffee in the morning." → ✅ "I always drink coffee in the morning." (adverb sebelum kata kerja biasa)
• ❌ "He always is late." → ✅ "He is always late." (adverb setelah to be)
• ❌ "She never has been to Paris." → ✅ "She has never been to Paris." (adverb setelah auxiliary, sebelum kata kerja utama)

Posisi adverb of frequency memang terasa membingungkan di awal, tapi begitu kamu ingat tiga aturan dasar ini, kalimatmu akan terdengar jauh lebih natural.