always, sometimes, never
How often? The five words that turn bare habits into honest ones — I always brush my teeth… well, usually.
From age 8Building sentences →
✏️ The pattern
- Saying it
- I always get up at 7.
- Saying no
- I never eat soup.
- Asking
- Do you ever…? / How often…?
- Short answer
- Sometimes. / Every day.
🗣️ Sentences a child can say
Tap any sentence to hear it. Every one uses words from a topic pack you already have.
🩹 What you will actually hear
The three mistakes that come up in every class, and what is behind each one.
I go always to school.I always go to school.
Frequency words live BEFORE the main verb (but after am/is/are). One address, easy to remember: home is before the verb.
I don't never eat fish.I never eat fish.
Never is already negative — it needs no don't. English allows one no per sentence; never spends it.
🎯 How to teach it
- 1
Draw the frequency ladder on the board — never at the bottom, always at the top — and let children pin habit cards to rungs. The picture is the grammar.
- 2
Play truth-or-tweak: a child states a habit ('I never sleep!') and the class votes true or false. Lying with adverbs is legal and hilarious.
- 3
Attach it to daily-routine vocabulary the same week — get up, brush, eat, sleep. Frequency words are hungry; routines are their food.
🗂️ Topic packs that pair with this
Same structure, words your class already knows — no new vocabulary needed.
💬 Questions teachers ask
All five adverbs at once?
Start with the poles — always and never — because opposites teach each other. Sometimes joins a week later; usually and often last, since even adults blur them.
Why does the position flip with am/is/are?
Don't explain it — model it. 'I am always happy' in your speech, often, until it sounds right. The rule ('after be, before others') is for you, not for eight-year-olds.