Routines, Habits and Repeated Activity
The timeline below shows actions that regularly occur from the past, through the present, into the future.
![](https://english.fyi/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Present-Simple.png)
We use the simple present to express habits or things that we do regularly.
Routine | I usually get up at 7 o’clock. |
Habit | I always drink coffee with my breakfast. |
Repeated activity | I play tennis after work on Fridays. |
We use some adverbs to describe how frequently we do an activity.
These are called adverbs of frequency and include:
Adverb of Frequency | Frequency |
always | 100% |
usually | 90% |
normally / generally | 80% |
often / frequently | 70% |
sometimes | 50% |
occasionally | 30% |
seldom | 10% |
hardly ever / rarely | 5% |
never | 0% |
We can also use adverbs of definite frequency when we want to be more specific about the frequency:
every | day | week | month | year |
once | a day | a week | a month | a year |
twice | a day | a week | a month | a year |
four times | a day | a week | a month | a year |
every | other day | other week | other month | other year |
daily | weekly | monthly | yearly |
Prepositions of time:
“In” is used to describe a general period of time.
“At” is only used to describe specific times.
“On” for specific days
In | On | At |
in the morning(s) | on Monday(s) | at 6 o’clock |
in the afternoon(s) | on Tuesday(s) | at dawn |
in the evening(s) | on Wednesday(s) | at dusk |
in January | on Thursday(s) | at midnight |
in February | on Friday(s) | at midday |
in March | on Saturday(s) | at noon |
in April | on Sunday(s) | at breakfast |
in May | on Monday morning | at lunchtime |
in June | on Tuesday afternoon | at dinnertime |
in July | on Friday evening | at the weekend |
in August | on the 10th (day) of June | at Christmas |
in September | on my birthday | at Easter |
in October | on our anniversary | at the end |
in November | on holiday | at the beginning |
in December | on Christmas day | at bedtime |
in spring | on Easter day | at sunrise |
in summer | on St Valentine’s Day | at sunset |
in autumn | on Memorial Day | at the same time |
in winter | on New Year’s Day | at once |
in 1968 | on the first day | at first |
in the sixties (60s) | on the last day | at last |
in the nineteenth century | on the last day of school | at the end |
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