Collins Cobuild English Grammar (98 page)

4.115
  To show how many times something happens, you can use a specific number,
several
, or
many
followed by
times
.

We had to ask
three times
.
It’s an experience I’ve repeated
many times
since.
He carefully aimed his rifle and fired
several times
.

If the number you are using is
one
you use
once
(not
one time
) in this structure. If it is
two
you can use
twice
.

I’ve been out with him
once
, that’s all.
The car broke down
twice
.

If something happens regularly, you can say how many times it happens within a period of time by adding
a
and a word referring to a period of time.

The group met
once a week
.
You only have a meal
three times a day
.
The committee meets
twice a year
.

You can also use an adverb of frequency such as
once
with a unit of time preceded by
every
to say that something happens a specified number of times regularly within that unit of time.

The average Briton moves house
once every seven and a half years
.
We meet
twice every Sunday
.
Three times every day
, he would come to the kiosk to check that we were all right.

If an event happens regularly during a specific period of the day, you can use the period of day instead of
times
:

I used to go in
three mornings a week
.
He was going out
five nights a week
.

A regular rate or quantity can also be expressed by adding
a
and a general time word.
Per
is sometimes used instead of
a
, especially in technical contexts.

He earns about
£1000 a week
.
I was only getting
three hours of sleep a night
. …rising upwards at the rate of
300 feet per second
.
He hurtles through the air at
600 miles per hour
.

estimating frequency

4.116
  If you want to be less precise about how frequently something happens, you can use one of the following words or expressions:
almost
,
about
,
nearly
,
or so
,
or less
, and
or more
.

You can use
almost
and
about
in front of
every
.

In the last month of her pregnancy, we went out
almost
every evening.

You can also use
almost
in front of
-ly
time adverbs derived from general time words, for example
monthly
,
weekly
and
daily
.

Small scale confrontations occur
almost
daily in many states.

Or so
,
or less
, and
or more
are used after frequency expressions, but not after adverbs of frequency.

Every hour
or so
, my shoulders would tighten.
If the delay is two hours
or more
, the whole cost of the journey should be refunded.

regular intervals

4.117
  If you want to say that something happens at regular intervals, you can use
every
followed by either a general or a specific unit of time.
Each
is sometimes used instead of
every
.

We’ll go hunting
every day
.
You get a lump sum and you get a pension
each week
.
Some people write out a new address book
every January
.

Every
can also be used with a number and the plural of the unit of time.

Every five minutes
the phone would ring.

The regular or average rate or quantity of something can also be expressed using
every
and
each
.

One fighter jet was shot down
every hour
. …the 300,000 garments the factory produces
each year
.

USAGE NOTE

4.118
  If something happens during one period of time but not during the next period, then happens again during the next, and so on, you can use
every other
followed by a unit of time or a specific time word.
Every second
is sometimes used instead of
every other
.

We wrote to our parents
every other day
.
Their local committees are usually held
every other month
.
He used to come and take them out
every other Sunday
.
It seemed easier to shave only
every second day
.

Prepositional phrases with
alternate
and a plural time word can also be used.

On alternate Sunday nights
, I tell the younger children a story.
Just do some exercises
on alternate days
at first.

particular occurrences of an event

4.119
  The adverbs
first
,
next
, and
last
are used to show the stage at which an event takes place.

First
,
the first time
, and
for the first time
can indicate the first occurrence of an event.

He was, I think, in his early sixties when I
first
encountered him.
They had seen each other
first
a week before, outside this hotel. …the tactical war games which were
first
fought in Ancient Greece.
It rained heavily twice while I was out.
The first time
I sheltered under a tree, but the second time I walked through it.
For the first time
Anne Marie felt frightened.

The repetition of an event or situation that has not happened for a long time can be indicated by using
for the first time
with
in
and the plural form of a general time word.

He was happy and relaxed for the
first time in years
.

A future occurrence is indicated by
next time
or
the next time
.

Don’t do it again. I might not forgive you
next time
.
The next time
I come here, I’m going to be better.

The use of
next
with statements referring to the future is described in paragraph
4.63
.

The most recent occurrence of an event can be indicated by using
last
as an adverb or the noun phrases
last time
or
the last time
.

He seemed to have grown a lot since he
last
wore it.
He could not remember when he had
last
eaten.
When did you
last
see him?
You did so well
last time
.

The final occurrence can be indicated by
for the last time
.

For the last time
he waved to the three friends who watched from above.

The use of
last
in statements about the past is described in paragraph
4.41
.

You can also use
before
,
again
, and noun phrases with an ordinal and
time
to say whether an event is a first occurrence, or one that has happened before.

You can use
before
with a perfect form of a verb to show whether something is happening for the first time or whether it is a repeated occurrence.

I’ve never been in a policeman’s house
before
.
He’s done it
before
.

The adverb
again
is used to talk about a second or subsequent occurrence of an event. Ordinals can be used with
time
, in noun phrases or in more formal prepositional phrases with
for
, to specify a particular occurrence of a repeated event.

Someone rang the front door bell. He stood and listened and heard it ring
again
and then
a third time
. We have no reliable information about that yet, he found himself saying
for the third time
.

-ly
time adverbs

4.120
  Some general time words can be changed into adverbs by adding
-ly
and used to show the frequency of an event.

hourly

daily

weekly

fortnightly

monthly

quarterly

yearly

Note the spelling of
daily
. The adverb
annually
and the adjective
annual
have the same meaning as
yearly
.

It was suggested that we give each child an allowance
yearly
or
monthly
to cover all he or she spends.
She phones me up
hourly
.

The same words can be used as adjectives.

To this, we add a
yearly
allowance of £65.00 towards repairs.
The media gave us
hourly
updates.
They had a long-standing commitment to making a
weekly
cash payment to mothers.

prepositional phrases

4.121
  Prepositional phrases with plural forms of specific time words can also be used to indicate frequency. For example,
on
is used with days of the week;
during
and
at
are used with
weekends
.

We’ve had teaching practice
on Tuesdays
and lectures
on Thursdays
.
She does not need help with the children
during weekends
.
We see each other
at weekends
.