Oftenis an adverb meaning ‘many times on different occasions’. Like many othershort adverbs, we use it in front position, in mid position (between the subject and the main verb, or after the modal verb or first auxiliary verb, or afterbeas a main verb) or in end position:
Ioftensee Christine when I’m in town. She must do her shopping in the same places as me.
A:I love that Indian restaurant on Mill Street.
B:D’you go thereoften?
A:Not veryoften,I mean, maybe once a month or so.
Front position is the least common position, and sounds more formal:
We used to see him on the beach.Oftenhe would go for a swim, then he would come and talk to us.
We can emphasiseoftenwithveryorquite:
Ivery oftenmeet him as he’s coming out of work.
Maggie is old now and shequite oftenforgets things.
We usehow oftento ask about the frequency of something:
A:How oftendo you go swimming?
B:About three or four times a week, usually.
See also:
Adverbs