核心畫面
You can picture often as a row of dots along a timeline that come up again and again — not just once, but repeatedly, with the dots fairly close together. Whatever the exact , the picture is 'this keeps happening'.
可以想成一條時間線上一個又一個重複出現的點：不是只發生一次，而是隔一陣子就又冒出來，點與點之間還算靠近。不管確切間隔…更多收起
可以想成一條時間線上一個又一個重複出現的點：不是只發生一次，而是隔一陣子就又冒出來，點與點之間還算靠近。不管確切間隔多寬，畫面都是「這件事一再發生」。整個 often 家族都是從這個「重複出現」的畫面長出來的。原始詞典資料2 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
oftenadv/ˈɒfən/
- 1
Frequently; many times on different occasions.
- I often walk to work when the weather is nice.
- I’ve been going to the movies more often since a new theatre opened near me.
oftenadj/ˈɒfən/
- 1
archaicFrequent.
- […] it is a melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples, extracted from many objects, and, indeed, the sundry contemplation of my travels; in which my often rumination wraps me in a most humorous sadness.
- 1618, Anthony Munday (translator), The Third Booke of Amadis de Gaule by Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts (1542), London, Chapter 2, p. 18, Then came the Ladies to visite him, and the Queene gaue him most gracious welcome, desiring him to be of good cheere: For heere is my Daughter (quoth she) right skilfull in the Art of Chirurgerie, that meanes to bee your often visitant.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。