Adverbs of frequency (toujours, souvent, jamais...)

Je fais toujours du sport le samedi.I always play sport on Saturdays.

French has a small set of adverbs that answer the question how often. Unlike English, where a word like always or often usually slips in front of the main verb (I always play), French's neutral position puts it right after the conjugated verb instead.

Quick shortcut: with a one-word verb, the frequency adverb goes right after it. Je vais souvent au cinéma.

The frequency scale

These are the words you'll reach for most, roughly from "all the time" to "not at all":

parfois and quelquefois mean the same thing and are interchangeable; quelquefois just sounds a touch more formal. One quirk worth knowing: toujours can also mean "still" depending on context (Il est toujours là can mean either "He's always there" or "He's still there") — the rest of the sentence usually makes the intended meaning clear.

French also has another family of adverbs — words like lentement (slowly) or facilement (easily) — that describe how something is done rather than how often. Those are a separate topic, adverbs of manner, not covered here.

Right after the verb, in a simple tense

In the present, the imparfait, and other tenses made of a single conjugated verb, the frequency adverb sits right after that verb:

• Elle arrive toujours en retard. (She's always late.)
• Nous mangeons parfois dehors. (We sometimes eat outside.)
• Il travaille rarement le week-end. (He rarely works on weekends.)

✅ Je vais souvent au cinéma., never ❌ Je souvent vais au cinéma. — French doesn't front the adverb before the verb the way English does.

Between the auxiliary and the participle, in the passé composé

In a compound tense like the passé composé, the short, very common adverbs — toujours, souvent and rarement — usually slot in between the auxiliary (avoir/être) and the past participle, the same spot déjà and bien use:

• ✅ J'ai toujours aimé le café., never ❌ J'ai aimé toujours le café.
• ✅ Elle a souvent voyagé seule.
• ✅ Elle a rarement téléphoné cette année-là.

Parfois and quelquefois behave differently — they usually go after the past participle instead, or at the start or end of the sentence:

• Elle a téléphoné parfois tard le soir.
• Parfois, il a plu toute la journée.

Opening or closing a sentence, for emphasis

Souvent, parfois and rarement can also open or close a whole sentence, for extra emphasis. Fronting them at the start is usually followed by a comma; tacking them on at the end usually isn't:

• Souvent, elle arrive en retard.
• Elle arrive en retard parfois.

jamais: the zero end of the scale

jamais sits at the opposite end from toujours — it means "never". On its own, as a one-word answer, it needs nothing else: Tu manges de la viande ? — Jamais !

Inside a full sentence, though, jamais needs its partner ne, using the same ne... verb... jamais frame as French's other negatives. The full rule for word order (including the passé composé) is covered in Common negative forms — here it's enough to know that jamais is simply the "0%" point on the frequency scale:

• Je ne mange jamais de viande. (I never eat meat.)

Common mistakes

• ❌ Je souvent vais au cinéma. → ✅ Je vais souvent au cinéma. (the adverb follows the conjugated verb, unlike English "I often go")
• ❌ J'ai aimé toujours le café. → ✅ J'ai toujours aimé le café. (in the passé composé, toujours/souvent slot between the auxiliary and the participle)
• ❌ Je bois jamais de café. (in standard writing) → ✅ Je ne bois jamais de café. (casual speech often drops ne, but standard written French keeps it — see Common negative forms)
• ❌ Parfois je à la piscine vais. → ✅ Parfois, je vais à la piscine. (a fronted adverb doesn't push the verb to the end — normal word order still applies after it)

Quick check

Add the frequency adverb shown, in the right place.

1. (toujours) Il pleut ici.
2. (souvent, passé composé) J'ai voyagé en Italie.
3. (parfois) Nous mangeons dehors.
4. (rarement, passé composé) Elle a téléphoné. (between the auxiliary and the participle)
5. (jamais) Je vois ce film.

Key takeaways

• Frequency adverbs — toujours, souvent, parfois/quelquefois, rarement — usually go right after the conjugated verb, unlike English, where a word like always fronts the main verb.
• In the passé composé, toujours, souvent and rarement slot between the auxiliary and the past participle; parfois/quelquefois usually go after the participle instead, or open/close the sentence.
• Souvent, parfois and rarement can also open or close a whole sentence for emphasis.
• jamais is the "never" end of the same scale; it needs its partner ne in standard written French, though casual speech commonly drops it.
• Adverbs of manner (lentement, facilement…) describe how something is done, not how often — a separate topic from this one.