Frequency: 常常, 经常, 有时候, 总是, 一直
副词 / adverbs (频率)
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
Subject + 常常 / 经常 / 有时候 / 总是 + Verb
Frequency adverbs go after the subject and before the verb:
总是 (always, often with a hint of annoyance), 经常 / 常常 (often), 有时候 (sometimes, can also start the sentence), 不常 (not often).
一直 means "continuously, all along": 我一直想学太极拳 (I've long wanted to learn tai chi).
Negative of 常常: 不常, not ✗ 不常常.
Examples
我经常去健身房。
Wǒ jīngcháng qù jiànshēnfáng.I often go to the gym.
有时候我们周末去爬山。
Yǒu shíhou wǒmen zhōumò qù pá shān.Sometimes we go hiking at the weekend.
他总是迟到。
Tā zǒngshì chídào.He's always late.
我不常运动。
Wǒ bù cháng yùndòng.I don't exercise often.
雨一直下，比赛不能开始。
Yǔ yìzhí xià, bǐsài bù néng kāishǐ.It keeps raining, the match can't start.
Common mistakes
✗ 我去常常健身房 → ✓ 我常常去健身房.
✗ 我不常常运动 → ✓ 我不常运动.