sometimes vs occasionally

[keannu]

For the frequency order of the following words.
Do you perceive them as in the table?

1.sometimes vs occasionally - Is "'occasional" perceived as lower than "sometimes"?
2. usually vs normally - Is "normally" perceived as lower than "usually"? Before I thought the two are the same.

https://www.grammar.cl/Basic/Adverbs_Frequency.htm

Frequency	Adverb of Frequency	Example Sentence
100%	always	I always go to bed before 11 p.m.
90%	usually	I usually have cereal for breakfast.
80%	normally / generally	I normally go to the gym.
70%	often* / frequently	I often surf the internet.
50%	sometimes	I sometimes forget my wife's birthday.
30%	occasionally	I occasionally eat junk food.
10%	seldom	I seldom read the newspaper.
5%	hardly ever / rarely	I hardly ever drink alcohol.
0%	never	I never swim in the sea.

 

[Rover_KE]

You didn't quote the sentence below that chart:

These are also known as Adverbs of INDEFINITE frequency as the exact frequency is not defined,

showing that there's room for some subjective variations.

 

[Tarheel]

Two things. One, it's just a rough guide for ESL learners. (Native speakers would be unlikely to consult such a chart.) Two, I see usually, normally, and generally as all being about the same.

I suggest that you look at it to get an idea of how those words are used and then forget it.

 

[emsr2d2]

Despite the subjective variations and the inexactness of the words, yes, I take "occasionally" to mean less frequently than "sometimes".

 

[jutfrank]

No. No. No.

I think that's an awful way of understanding the use of those words, for any student at or above a lower intermediate level.

 

[teechar]

I agree that using those absolute numbers is not entirely helpful. For instance, I would not use 90% (or any fixed percentage) for "usually"; it depends on the context.

Keannu, you can see from the above discussion that there is a lot of elasticity when it comes to interpreting those adverbs.

 

[jutfrank]

There's so much wrong with that list, keannu.

For a start, usually and normally should not be on that list. They do not express frequency in the same way as the other words. It's lists like this that perpetuate incorrect use of those two words.