The pattern

"How often do you" plus a verb asks about frequency: how many times, how regularly. "How often do you work out?" The answers come in a family of words worth learning together: every day, twice a week, once a month, now and then, hardly ever, never.

It is a friendly small-talk question because habits reveal personality without being personal. It is also a practical one: "How often does the bus come?" is what you ask at a stop in a new city.

Say it out loud

Tap a sentence to hear it. Say it after the voice.

  1. Third person: "does", and the verb stays plain.

  2. Sometimes, but not regularly.

  3. Almost never.

Check yourself

1Which answer means "almost never"?
2What is the correct question about a bus?
3What does "now and then" mean?

Practice · 3 min

Ask about habits, and answer with a detail. Prompt on the left, one natural sentence on the right.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5

Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.