One could argue that being able to front the following ‘indefinite’ time phrases shows evidence of a higher CEFR level. A search in iWeb corpus for: . _II _NNT2 , 1 . AT TIMES, 11672 C1 → C2 She still misses him at times, but we all do. listen Kit accused me of only being along for the ride while at times I wished he‘d fall in the river and drown, so I could watch. At times, I actually like it. listen 2 . WITHIN …
The first point in the English Grammar Profile!
A1 point 1 in the category of ADVERBS is defined:
adverbs of degree and time to modify verbs.
Adverbs of indefinite frequency, such as ‘sometimes’, ‘occasionally’, ‘usually’, ‘normally’, ‘regularly’, and ‘often’, are commonly used with the present simple tense to indicate routine or repeated activities without specifying exact timing. These adverbs typically precede the main verb but follow the verb ‘to be’ and auxiliary verbs. They can also be positioned at the beginning or end of a sentence in some cases. The webpage provides examples of these usages in various contexts, including TED talks and student writings.
In contrast, definite adverbs of frequency, like ‘yearly’, ‘weekly’, ‘every hour’, and ‘every day’, provide exact frequencies and usually appear at the end of a sentence. The webpage also highlights the overlap and differences in the usage of these adverbs at different language proficiency levels (A1 and A2).
Furthermore, it presents common collocates for the adverb ‘usually’ and examples of sentences using ‘often’. The examples illustrate common behaviors or thought processes, suggesting that these adverbs are integral to expressing frequency in English.
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 173 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: ‘can’ with an increasing range of adverbs (including ‘easily’, ‘hardly’, ‘now’, ‘probably‘, ‘sometimes’, ‘still’) in the normal mid position after the modal verb or after the subject in questions. *Note ‘still’ is listed at B1. C1 Point 196 in MODALITY …
B2 point 150 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: ‘may’ with an increasing range of adverbs (most commonly ‘even’, ‘only’, ‘already’, ‘never’, ‘just’, ‘sometimes’) in the normal mid-position after the modal verb. B1 point 70: ‘may’ with a limited range of adverbs (most commonly ‘also’) in the normal mid-position after the modal verb …
