“Voy a menudo”: where the adverb goes
CEFR A2 · part 1
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
“Comí” or “comía”Choosing between the two past tenses: a finished action with “comí”, a background, a…“Por” or “para”Choosing between “por” and “para” for cause, purpose, destination, duration, exchange…“Lo”, “la”, “le” — and they go in frontReplacing an object with “lo”, “la”, “los”, “las”, “le” or “les”, and putting the…“Saber” or “conocer”Using “saber” for facts, information and skills, and “conocer” for being acquainted with…“Me duele la cabeza”, not “mi cabeza”Using the article instead of the possessive with parts of the body and clothes, because…“Ser” or “estar”: two verbs for one “to be”Choosing between “ser” and “estar” in everyday sentences: who you are and what you are…The rule, in three lines
Spanish puts the adverb AFTER the verb —voy a menudo, come siempre aquí— or at the very front of the sentence, and almost never between the subject and the verb, which is exactly where English puts it. Nunca is the one that likes both places: nunca voy and no voy nunca.
The usual slip. Copying the English slot: yo a menudo voy, ella siempre está cansada — understandable, and unmistakably foreign.
Why it catches you out. English wedges the adverb between the subject and the verb: “I often go”, “she never eats meat”. Spanish will not have it there. This one almost never stops you being understood, and that is precisely why it survives for years after everything else is fixed.