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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Sometimes
Sometimes
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vincenza
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Sometimes
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Hi everyone!
Here �s a question from a native speaker... I �m having difficulty with the frequency adverb "sometimes": Due to their native language, Italian, my students insist on answering a question like: " How often do you go shopping?", with the answer: "I sometimes go shopping". As a native speaker, it sounds like something is missing but I can �t think of how to explain "WHY". I �ve thought of saying that we should use "occasionally", and that "sometimes" is better used after a question like: " Do you play football?"...."Yes, I sometimes play football". They are only at a level of Trinity 4/5 so maybe I �m just being too demanding!!!?  |
19 Feb 2014
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jannabanna
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I have the same problem with my students who are all translating from their mother tongue - French. I usually tell them that the answer to "how often" is an expression of frequency, like: once a week; etc and not an adverb of frequency.
I have always accepted one word answers from my students because I believe in teaching them everyday English. For example:
Do you play football? Yes, sometimes.
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19 Feb 2014
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alexcure
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Vincenza,
I don �t think you �re too demanding. If you stop correcting them, most of them won �t pick it up at all later on. Once they have developed a "bad habit" it�s often very difficult to get rid of it...
Hugs,
Alex
PS. Your explanations seem very good. It�s a question of time.... and they�ll get accustomed to it.
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19 Feb 2014
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debbie6
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We use "sometimes" at the beginning and at the end of a sentence. It can be used in the middle but it sounds better at the beginning or the end. |
19 Feb 2014
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yanogator
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To add a little here, I think of "sometimes" as telling "when" more than "how often" (but only loosely speaking). It does so in a very vague way, of course, but that can clarify it a little. It deals more with the fact that the event happens (There are times that I go shopping, but they don �t happen frequently), and that it is sporadic, rather than intending to give the frequency.
Now, a question about Italian, to see if I can better understand the confusion. Are "a volte" and "occasionalmente" interchangeable? I �m guessing that they would answer "a volte" in Italian. If so, then it seems that "a volte" and "sometimes" aren �t exactly the same.
As with many things, this is a very fine point of difference.
Bruce |
19 Feb 2014
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vincenza
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Thanks everyone for your most helpful replies!
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19 Feb 2014
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