I can say how often I eat and drink things, and I won't forget that after “not very” and “not at all” the verb takes ません.
How often: from いつも to ぜんぜん
How often: from いつも to ぜんぜん
The goal of this lesson: say how often you do something. In Japanese this is one word before the verb.
From “always” to “not at all”: いつも · よく · ときどき · あまり · ぜんぜん.
The frequency word comes before the verb, and the object with を can come before or after it, but still before the verb: 「よくすしをたべます。」 and 「すしをよくたべます。」 are both right. English puts “often” at the end (“I eat sushi often”); in Japanese the verb is always last.
After あまり and ぜんぜん the verb always takes ません: that's how you say “not very often” and “not at all”. English can say “I rarely eat fish” with no “not”; with あまり and ぜんぜん the Japanese verb is always negative.
まいにち, まいあさ, and まいばん (“every day”, “every morning”, “every evening”) come before the object and the verb and take no particle.
Meals: あさごはん, ひるごはん, ばんごはん. ごはん alone is both cooked rice and a meal in general. “For breakfast” is a set phrase with に: 「あさごはんになにをたべますか。」
Common mistakes:
• NOT 「あまりさかなをたべます。」 — after あまり you need たべません.
• NOT 「ぜんぜんテレビをみます。」 — after ぜんぜん you need みません.
• NOT 「たべますよくすしを。」 — the verb goes at the end.
How often
After あまり and ぜんぜん, the verb always takes ません.
| Word | How often | Example |
|---|---|---|
| いつも | always | いつもコーヒーをのみます。 |
| よく | often | よくすしをたべます。 |
| ときどき | sometimes | ときどきラーメンをたべます。 |
| あまり | not very often | あまりさかなをたべません。 |
| ぜんぜん | not at all | ぜんぜんうどんをたべません。 |
Lesson notes
How often: from いつも to ぜんぜん
The goal of this lesson: say how often you do something. In Japanese this is one word before the verb.
From “always” to “not at all”: いつも · よく · ときどき · あまり · ぜんぜん.
The frequency word comes before the verb, and the object with を can come before or after it, but still before the verb: 「よくすしをたべます。」 and 「すしをよくたべます。」 are both right. English puts “often” at the end (“I eat sushi often”); in Japanese the verb is always last.
After あまり and ぜんぜん the verb always takes ません: that's how you say “not very often” and “not at all”. English can say “I rarely eat fish” with no “not”; with あまり and ぜんぜん the Japanese verb is always negative.
まいにち, まいあさ, and まいばん (“every day”, “every morning”, “every evening”) come before the object and the verb and take no particle.
Meals: あさごはん, ひるごはん, ばんごはん. ごはん alone is both cooked rice and a meal in general. “For breakfast” is a set phrase with に: 「あさごはんになにをたべますか。」
Common mistakes:
• NOT 「あまりさかなをたべます。」 — after あまり you need たべません.
• NOT 「ぜんぜんテレビをみます。」 — after ぜんぜん you need みません.
• NOT 「たべますよくすしを。」 — the verb goes at the end.