Adverbs of Frequency – Grammar Notes

We use adverbs of frequency to show how often we do something.

1. I always have coffee in the morning.
2. I usually eat dinner at home.
3. I sometimes eat at restaurants.
4. I never drink alcohol.

Adverbs of frequency and relative strength.

1. Always (100%)
2. Almost always
3. Usually
4. Often
5. Sometimes
6. Hardly ever / Rarely
7. Almost never
8. Never (0%)

Adverbs of frequency can be used immediately in front of the verb.

1. Junko almost always paints in the evening.
2. She usually gets to work early.
3. We hardly ever rent movies.
4. I never stay out late.

Read the dialog and look for the Adverbs of Frequency

Daniel: So Hana, tell me, do you cook often?

Hana: Yes, I always cook. How about you?

Daniel: Well, I don’t really cook that often. I’m really busy during the week. I usually just get takeout. But on the weekends, I often cook.

Hana: Do you ever eat out?

Daniel: Only occasionally because I don’t really have the time. What about you?

Hana: Well, I hardly ever go out to eat.

Daniel: Do you ever get takeout?

Hana: No, I never do. I prefer to cook. Daniel, do you ever have friends over for dinner?

Daniel: I do sometimes but rarely. I’m not a great cook.

Hana: Well, I like to cook and like having friends over for dinner. Do you want to come to my apartment for dinner tonight? 

Daniel: Wow! Sure, I’d love to!

Source: https://www.elllo.org/english/grammar/L2-05-DanielHana-Cooking-Adverbs-Frequency.htm

Most Americans who celebrate Thanksgiving, about 9 in 10, eat turkey with their holiday meal. But if you’ve ever wondered why so many of people eat turkey on Thanksgiving, the answer is a bit more complicated than you may think. 

Vocabulary

venison – the meat of a deer used as food

settler – a person who moves with a group of others to live in a new country or area

indigenous – inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times or from before the arrival of colonists

fowl – birds 

plentiful – existing in great quantities

a one-off – done, made, or happening only once and not repeated

First Thanksgiving: No Turkey on the Table?

There’s no evidence that turkey was on the menu in late 1621 when the Pilgrim settlers of Plymouth Colony sat down with indigenous Wampanoag people for what we now recognize as the first Thanksgiving celebration.

According to a contemporary account of that event by Edward Winslow, the settlers and Native Americans dined on venison, fish, and shellfish as well as corn and other vegetables. While “fowl” may have been served, that may well have referred to seasonal waterfowl like duck or geese, rather than turkey. 

Turkeys were plentiful in the region when the Pilgrims arrived, however. Estimates put the total number of wild turkeys in North America at more than 10 million before European settlement began. In his history of Plymouth Plantation, written more than 20 years later, the colony’s longtime governor William Bradford referred to a “great store of Wild Turkies” around the time of that famous meal in 1621.  

By 1789, when George Washington declared a day of national thanksgiving—a one-off, not a recurring holiday—Americans were eating quite a bit of turkey. “I don’t know that I would say it was a staple, but it was certainly being hunted and eaten by the 19th century,” Abrell says. “It was almost extinct in the wild by that time.” 

‘Mother of Thanksgiving’ Popularizes Turkey

But like most of the Thanksgiving traditions we know today, turkey didn’t become a part of that November holiday until the mid-19th century. This was largely thanks to the efforts of the writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale, who became known as the “mother of Thanksgiving.” 

In her 1827 novel Northwood, Hale included an entire chapter on Thanksgiving celebrations in her native New England and other regions. She also used her platform as editor of the magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book to sway both politicians and the public toward the idea of a national Thanksgiving holiday.

By 1854, thanks in large part to Hale’s work, more than 30 states and U.S. territories held Thanksgiving annually. President Abraham Lincoln made it official in 1863, declaring the last Thursday in November as a national Thanksgiving holiday.  Turkey was a key part of Hale’s Thanksgiving vision. 

Source: https://www.history.com/news/turkey-thanksgiving-meal

Back to school and ready to grow! All classes have now begun. Here’s to a year full of learning, progress, and success. Wishing all students the best as they embrace new challenges and opportunities. Let’s make this year unforgettable!

We held student orientation for daytime, evening, and weekend students in Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and English. Students are well-prepared to start their first day of classes! We look forward to working alongside them on their English language journeys. Not only will they be gaining important life and language skills in classes, but they will also be making new, lasting friendships. Have a great school year, everyone!

We are excited to be a  part of students’ English language journeys. We are certain that if students come to class every day, speak English every chance they get, and do their homework, their English levels will soar to new heights this year!

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo promised to swim in the Parisian river before the Olympic Games.  On Wednesday, July 17, she proved that the city had cleaned up the river enough for the athletes to compete in the once-dirty water.

Her swim was rescheduled twice because of high bacteria¹ levels, but, on Wednesday, just nine days before the opening ceremony, the mayor jumped in, wearing a wetsuit and goggles², and swam rapidly downstream.

Ms. Hidalgo, a socialist politician³ who has made many changes to the city, has been criticized for the high cost of cleaning the river.

Swimming was banned⁴ in the Seine in 1923. Ms. Hidalgo’s plan is for the river to be used not only for a handful of Olympic events but also, from next year, for public swimming at a few locations.

Next up for the Seine, on Friday, the 26th: the Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games 2024!

1. bacteria (plural noun of bacterium): any one of a group of very small living things that often cause disease — usually plural ↩︎
2. wetsuit and googles (nouns): click here for a photo example ↩︎
3. socialist politician (adjective noun phrase): an active person in government who is a member of the Socialist Party ↩︎
4. banned (past tense verb; adjective): to forbid people from using (something) ↩︎

Ask the reader: Do you know where the public pools are in your area? Is public swimming allowed in the rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water where you grew up?