alltaf / oft / aldrei

Frequency Words

Level 2

alltaf, oft, stundum, sjaldan, aldrei tell how often. They go right after the verb, like ekki: Ég drekk aldrei kaffi.

How It Works

The words.

  • alltaf (always)
  • oft (often)
  • stundum (sometimes)
  • sjaldan (seldom, rarely)
  • aldrei (never)

They never change form.

Where they go. They take the same spot as ekki: right after the finite verb.

  • Ég drekk aldrei kaffi. (I never drink coffee.)
  • Hún kemur alltaf of seint. (She is always late.)

With a helper verb, they follow the helper, not the main verb: Ég hef aldrei komið til Grænlands (I have never been to Greenland).

Verb second. If a time word or another phrase comes first, the verb is still second and the subject moves after it (verb-second word order): Á morgnana drekk ég alltaf te.

Pronoun objects. A short pronoun like hann or það comes before the frequency word: Ég sé hann aldrei. A full noun stays after it: Ég sé aldrei Jón. See object shift.

Starting with the word. For emphasis the word can come first, and then the verb follows it at once: Stundum fer ég í sund (Sometimes I go swimming).

Because aldrei already means "never", do not add ekki to it.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég drekk aldrei kaffi.

    I never drink coffee.

    Word by Word: I drink never coffee.

  2. Hún kemur alltaf of seint.

    She is always late.

    Word by Word: She comes always too late.

  3. Við förum oft í sund.

    We often go swimming.

    Word by Word: We go often into swimming.

  4. Stundum fer ég í bíó á föstudögum.

    Sometimes I go to the cinema on Fridays.

    Word by Word: Sometimes go I into cinema on Fridays.

    stundum comes first, so the verb fer comes next and ég follows it.

  5. Ég sé hann aldrei.

    I never see him.

    Word by Word: I see him never.

    A short pronoun object comes before aldrei.

  6. Ég hef aldrei komið til Grænlands.

    I have never been to Greenland.

    Word by Word: I have never come to Greenland.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the frequency word before the verb, as in English.

    Ég aldrei drekk kaffi.
    Ég drekk aldrei kaffi.

    In Icelandic the verb comes first and the frequency word follows it, just like ekki.

  • Keeping the subject before the verb after a fronted word.

    Stundum ég fer í sund.
    Stundum fer ég í sund.

    When stundum comes first, the verb must be second, so fer comes before ég.

  • Adding ekki to aldrei.

    Ég drekk ekki aldrei kaffi.
    Ég drekk aldrei kaffi.

    aldrei already means "never". One negative word is enough.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

alltaf / oft / aldreiLevel 2Frequency Words

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Frequency words build on ekki.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

alltafoftstundumsjaldanaldreiekki