Where “How often” questions come up in A2 Key
Speaking Part 1 of A2 Key and A2 Key for Schools is a short interview about your everyday life: school, free time, weekends. One question near the end needs a longer answer, for example: “Please tell me something about what you do at the weekend.”
Answer in three or four sentences, each with a day or time and a frequency word. The same sentences work in the short message of Reading and Writing Part 6.
From “always” to “never”: the frequency ladder
Learn them as a ladder, from every time to not at all:
- “always” = every time: “I always have breakfast before school.”
- “usually” = almost every time: “I usually walk to school.”
- “often” = many times: “We often play football after school.”
- “sometimes” = some of the time: “I sometimes cook with my dad.”
- “never” = not at any time: “My sister never gets up before eight.”
- Exact numbers: “every day”, “once a week”, “twice a week”, “three times a month”.
Where the frequency word goes
Three rules cover most A2 sentences. “Sometimes” and “usually” can also come first (“Sometimes I walk.”); “always” and “never” stay in the middle.
- Before the main verb: “I often play basketball.”
- After am, is and are: “She is never late.”
- Phrases like “twice a week” go at the end: “I wash the plates twice a week.”
Asking: “How often…?” and “Do you ever…?”
In this survey, a student asks her friend Kai about his week, another friend checks with his grandmother (“Abuela” is Spanish for “Grandma”), and the last line sums up.
“How often…?” asks for a frequency. “Does he ever…?” is a yes/no question (“ever” = at any time); typical answers are “Yes, sometimes.” or “No, never.” “Ever” goes in the question, “never” in the answer.
Interviewer Kai, how often do you play video games?
Kai Every day. Well, usually!
Interviewer And how often do you help Abuela Rosa in the kitchen?
Kai Sometimes. I wash the plates twice a week.
Friend Does Kai ever do his homework before dinner, Abuela?
Grandmother No, he doesn't!
Interviewer OK. So Kai plays video games every day, he washes the plates twice a week, and he never does his homework before dinner!
Reporting: from “I” to “he” or “she”
Compare the last line with the answers. “I wash” becomes “he washes”: with he, she and it, the verb takes -s or -es, and “have” becomes “has”. “No, he doesn’t” becomes “he never does”: “never” is already negative, so no “doesn’t”. The details stay: “twice a week” does not become “sometimes”.
One exception: after “doesn’t” and “does”, the verb has no -s: “He doesn’t play tennis.”, “Does she cook?”
Say the -s so the examiner hears it
A missing -s is easy to hear, and pronunciation is marked. The ending has three sounds:
- /s/ after p, t and k sounds: “helps”, “gets”, “likes”.
- /z/ after most other sounds: “plays”, “goes”, “lives”.
- /ɪz/, an extra syllable, after s, x, sh and ch sounds: “watches”, “washes”.
- Two special ones: “does” /dʌz/ and “says” /sez/.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Check your report for these:
- “He play video games every day.” → “He plays video games every day.”
- “How often you play football?” → “How often do you play football?”
- “I play always football.” → “I always play football.”
- “She doesn’t watches TV.” → “She doesn’t watch TV.”
- “He doesn’t never cook.” → “He never cooks.”
A 10-minute survey routine
Do this with a parent or a friend:
- Minutes 1–3: ask five “How often…?” questions and one “Do you ever…?”, and note the answers.
- Minutes 4–6: report out loud: “My mum cooks twice a week. She never plays video games.”
- Minutes 7–8: your partner listens for every -s; repeat any verb that lost it.
- Minutes 9–10: answer “Please tell me something about what you do at the weekend.” in three or four sentences.
What comes next
Next, put the same sentences into a short message about your school day. Then A2 moves on to school rules with “must”, “mustn’t” and “have to”; at B1 you compare old and new habits with “used to”.