Real English series: How often do you...

Lesson 26 in the Real English site is a wonderful opportunity for students in the Basic level to recycle a number of structures that have come up during the course.

The title of the lesson is a bit misleading, How often do you,,,, which makes us think about a lesson on adverbs of frequency. However, before we get to the How often...? questions there's a number of questions that passers-by both in Britain and US are asked about their daily routines concerning their jobs.

Here are most of the questions asked in the clip ordered in a logical way, which lend themselves to a nice oral activity to do after we have watched the video. Most of the wh- question words are used in the video clip, and so is auxiliary does for the third person singular.

Street directions are also revised. Also pay attention to the accent, which is British or American, and to the use of auxiliaries in some of the answers.

What do you do?
Where do you work?
What time do you start/finish work?
How many hours a day/week do you work?
From what to what?
How many hours a week does he work?
How much annual leave/holiday do you get/take?

Where are we now?
Which way are you going to take (to get to your workplace)?

Do Irish people like wine?
How often do you drink wine?
Do you ever drink champagne?



You can watch the same video with subtitles on the Real English site here.

Habits

Self-study activity:
Watch the opening scenes of the film Couples Retreat. How many of the activities can you name in English?

The clip belongs in a Russian blog and we can hear some voice-over comments in that language, but we shouldn't bother about that, as we still manage to hear the background music perfectly and the quality of the clip is really good.

Now, if possible, get together with an English-speaking friend or relative. If not, you can do the activity on your own.

How often do you do the activities below?

They are most of the activities that appear in the Couples Retreat clip.
Answer with adverbs of indefinite frequency (never, always, sometimes, rarely) or definitive frequency (once a week, twice a month, three times a year, every day).

Example:
I never ride a bike.
I kiss my children every day.

How often do you...

use your car?
kiss your partner or family?
go for a walk in the park?
ride your bike?
play games with your partner or family?
set the table or do housework?
give your partner flowers?
go late for work / school?
argue with your partner or your family?
vacuum the house?
go to parties?
go to the disco?
go jogging?
work out at the gym?
go to the beach?
take part in competitions?
hug your partner or your family?
dance?
take photographs?

This activity derives from one on the great Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals.

Present simple and frequency adverbs

From English can be fun comes this presentation about the use of the present simple. It is a good revision of a basic grammar point.

FrequencyAdverbs

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