Lesson 16.3: How Often? – Talking About Frequency in Italian 📅🧘‍♂️🏃‍♂️ #

You’ve talked about your hobbies.
You’ve asked others about theirs.
Now it’s time for the truth: how often do you actually do them?

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to describe how frequently you do something — whether you’re a daily reader, a weekend hiker, or someone who says “I jog” but last ran in 2017 (👀 Geoff).

Frequency Words in Italian #

You can place them before or after the verb, depending on the phrase.

Examples:

• Leggo ogni giorno. → I read every day.
• Vado in palestra due volte a settimana. → I go to the gym twice a week.
• Non cucino mai. → I never cook.

How to Use Them #

Combine your hobby verbs from Lesson 16.1 and 16.2 with these time expressions:

• Faccio yoga ogni mattina.
• Gioco a basket il sabato.
• Non suono mai il flauto. (The flute forgives you.)

🎭 Geoff & Viktor Get Honest (with English translations) #

Geoff: Viktor, tu fai karate ogni giorno?
Geoff: Viktor, do you do karate every day?

Viktor: Quasi. Mi alleno cinque volte a settimana.
Viktor: Almost. I train five times a week.

Geoff: Impressionante. Io corro… qualche volta.
Geoff: Impressive. I run… sometimes.

Viktor: Quando, scusa?
Viktor: When, exactly?

Geoff: Ultimamente… nel sogno.
Geoff: Lately… in my dreams.

Expressions + Negation #

To say “never,” use non + verb + mai:

• Non gioco mai a tennis. → I never play tennis.
• Non vado mai in palestra. → I never go to the gym.
• Non cucino mai il venerdì. → I never cook on Fridays.

(We don’t ask why. Maybe it’s pizza night.)

Practice Tip 💬 #

Try combining:

• A verb from your hobby list
• A time expression
• An adverb of frequency

Example:

Io leggo spesso la sera.
Noi facciamo sport due volte a settimana.

Coming up next: Exercise 16.3 — How often do you really do these things? Time to confess.