Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Expression of frequency

I just came up with a question about words which describe frequency, so I looked them up on the Internet.

According to some articles, frequency of each word is as follows;

usually 80%
often/frequently 60%
sometimes 50%
occasionally 40%

I didn't know that frequency of "occasionally" is lower than "sometimes." That's good to know. However what I wanted to know was words less than "occasionally", around 20 - 30%.

How about "once in a while"? I want to know some expressions without using negative words, like "seldom" and "rarely." I wonder if there are any other words.

10 comments:

ジャス said...

Using "a few" can cause a lot of problems! Well, as in so much as "quite a few" actually means "a lot" whereas, "Just a few" equals "Not a lot". It could be confusing :-S

sand said...

Yes!!!! I'm always confused. It doesn't make sense to me that "quite a few" actually means "a lot." :-(

Anonymous said...

"Occasionally" sounds a bit formal (as we tend not to speak in the same manner as how we write), so "sometimes" is a good alternative.

"Sometimes" is also a good way to say "once in a while." This let's the listener know that you have at least done the activity before, but it's not something that you do frequently.

AVINASH INARKAR said...

hieee sand !! i need ur help. hope u do. i want to know how u create labels in your blog...
as i m also write few thing about my personal life and experience. if u want just check the link: http://avinashinarkar.blogspot.com

sand said...

Anonymous,

Thank you for your explanation. It's very helpful!!

sand said...

Avinash,

When you asked the same question in a comment on another article, I wrote how to add label list in reply. Have you tried to do that?
Please refer to the following.

http://sandfriend.blogspot.com/2010/05/bumemer.html

Maikeru said...

Hey Sand, it's Maikeru from Lang-8.

I think "every now and then" could also be used for 20-30%. To me it means the same as "once in a while." But, it's hard to think of it in percents and sometimes they overlap. You can usually tell from context.

sand said...

Maikeru,

Thank you for visiting my blog!!
Oh, "every now and then." I see. I haven't used it, so I'll try to use it right away!

Ero Oyaji said...

If something happens very rarely, you could say it happens "once in a blue moon"

sand said...

Hi Ero Oyaji, Thank you for visiting my blog!
"Once in a blue moon"? It's an interesting expression. I'll try to use it!