We’ll go hunting every day.
You get a lump sum and you get a pension each week.
Some people write out a new address book every January.
Every can also be used with a number and the plural of the unit of time.
Every five minutes the phone would ring.
The regular or average rate or quantity of something can also be expressed using every and each.
One fighter jet was shot down every hour. …the 300,000 garments the factory produces each year.
4.118 If something happens during one period of time but not during the next period, then happens again during the next, and so on, you can use every other followed by a unit of time or a specific time word. Every second is sometimes used instead of every other.
We wrote to our parents every other day.
Their local committees are usually held every other month.
He used to come and take them out every other Sunday.
It seemed easier to shave only every second day.
Prepositional phrases with alternate and a plural time word can also be used.
On alternate Sunday nights, I tell the younger children a story.
Just do some exercises on alternate days at first.
particular occurrences of an event
4.119 The adverbs first, next, and last are used to show the stage at which an event takes place.
First, the first time, and for the first time can indicate the first occurrence of an event.
He was, I think, in his early sixties when I first encountered him.
They had seen each other first a week before, outside this hotel. …the tactical war games which were first fought in Ancient Greece.
It rained heavily twice while I was out.
The first time I sheltered under a tree, but the second time I walked through it.
For the first time Anne Marie felt frightened.
The repetition of an event or situation that has not happened for a long time can be indicated by using for the first time with in and the plural form of a general time word.
He was happy and relaxed for the first time in years.
A future occurrence is indicated by next time or the next time.
Don’t do it again. I might not forgive you next time.
The next time I come here, I’m going to be better.
The use of next with statements referring to the future is described in paragraph 4.63.
The most recent occurrence of an event can be indicated by using last as an adverb or the noun phrases last time or the last time.
He seemed to have grown a lot since he last wore it.
He could not remember when he had last eaten.
When did you last see him?
You did so well last time.
The final occurrence can be indicated by for the last time.
For the last time he waved to the three friends who watched from above.
The use of last in statements about the past is described in paragraph 4.41.
You can also use before, again, and noun phrases with an ordinal and time to say whether an event is a first occurrence, or one that has happened before.
You can use before with a perfect form of a verb to show whether something is happening for the first time or whether it is a repeated occurrence.
I’ve never been in a policeman’s house before.
He’s done it before.
The adverb again is used to talk about a second or subsequent occurrence of an event. Ordinals can be used with time, in noun phrases or in more formal prepositional phrases with for, to specify a particular occurrence of a repeated event.
Someone rang the front door bell. He stood and listened and heard it ring again and then a third time. We have no reliable information about that yet, he found himself saying for the third time.
-ly time adverbs
4.120 Some general time words can be changed into adverbs by adding -ly and used to show the frequency of an event.
hourly
daily
weekly
fortnightly
monthly
quarterly
yearly
Note the spelling of daily. The adverb annually and the adjective annual have the same meaning as yearly.
It was suggested that we give each child an allowance yearly or monthly to cover all he or she spends.
She phones me up hourly.
The same words can be used as adjectives.
To this, we add a yearly allowance of £65.00 towards repairs.
The media gave us hourly updates.
They had a long-standing commitment to making a weekly cash payment to mothers.
prepositional phrases
4.121 Prepositional phrases with plural forms of specific time words can also be used to indicate frequency. For example, on is used with days of the week; during and at are used with weekends.
We’ve had teaching practice on Tuesdays and lectures on Thursdays.
She does not need help with the children during weekends.
We see each other at weekends.
She only works Wednesdays and Fridays.
Thursday mornings I volunteer at the local senior center.
His radio program broadcasts Friday nights at nine.
In is used with periods of the day, except night.
I can’t work full time. I only work in the afternoons, I have lectures in the mornings.
Harry Truman loved to sit in an old rocking chair in the evenings and face the lawns behind the White House.