頻度副詞often用法要點

1. 關于位置

(1) 表示“經常”，通常放在行為動詞之前，特殊動詞（助動詞、情態動詞以及動詞 be）之后。如：

He was often late for class. 他上課經常遲到。

We often go skating together. 我們常常一道去溜冰。

You must often come to see us. 你要常來看我們。

(2) 如果句子較短或為了強調，often可以放在句末。如：

You won’t see her often. 你不會常常看到她的。

如果句子較長或為了強調，often也可以放句首。如：

Often I miss breakfast and have an early lunch instead. 我常常不吃早餐，而吃一頓早午餐。

有時位于句首或句末是因為本身帶有修飾語（如quite, very, so等）。如：

Quite often the phone rings when I’m in the bath. 電話經常在我洗澡時響。

When I was young, I used to play tennis very often. 我年輕時經常打網球。

(3) 有時often不是用于說明句子中的動詞，而是用于說明整個句子的，此時也通用于句首。如：

Often, in the evening, we’d hear the sirens. 常常我們會在傍晚聽到警報聲。

Often, when he should have been doing something useful, he wasted his time drawing little pictures. 常常當他應當干些正經事時，他卻浪費時間畫小畫。

(4) often置于句首時，有時其后可接倒裝語序（但這并不是必需的）。如：

Often had she intended to speak of this. 她常想說及此事。

Often did we warn them not to do so. 我們曾多次警告過他們，不要這樣做。

2. 關于時態

often通常與一般現在時或一般過去時連用，此外它還有以下用法值得注意：

(1) 與現在完成時連用，強調動詞的一慣性和經常性。如：

You have often been told not to do that. 多次告誡過你別干那事。

I have often heard of him working hard. 我常聽人說他刻苦用功。

(2) 與情態動詞will連用，表示一種慣常的行為。如：

In fine weather, he will often sit in the sun for hours. 天氣晴朗時，他常在陽光下坐好幾個小時。

When you look at clouds they will often remind you of animals. 你觀察云彩的時候，往往會聯想起動物。

(3) 與情態動詞would連用，表示過去慣常的行為。如：

When we were students we would often stay up all night. 我們當學生時，經常通宵不睡。

As he grew older, he would often talk about his war experiences. 他年歲大了，常常講他的戰爭經歷。

3. 在否定句中的位置

在否定句中，often可位于否定詞not之前或之后。如：

They don’t often hold such parties. 他們不常開這樣的晚會。

Statistics and surveys often don’t prove very much at all. 數據和調查常常證明不了什么。

4. as often as 用法

用于 as often as，有兩個意思是，一是表示“與……一樣次數多”。如：

He came as often as he could. 他盡可能常來。

二是起連詞作用，相當于whenever，意為“每當”。如：

As often as I tried to ring him, the line was engaged. 每次我給他打電話都占線。

注意習語as often as not（通常，常常），也可說成more often than not。如：

When it’s foggy, the trains are late as often as not. 霧大時，火車往往晚點。