I saw this on an English text book in Japan. I was wondering if it's correct.
"I usually have fruits every day."
I'm confused why usually is used in this sentence since 'usually' means 'not all the time' but 'every day' connotates 'all the time'.
I'm sorry for the poor explanation. I hope you could help me with this.
Thank you.
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Hello, Claire, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange.
@Claire posted:"I usually have fruits every day."
I'm confused why usually is used in this sentence since 'usually' means 'not all the time' but 'every day' connotates 'all the time'.
You can indeed combine "every + noun" with "usually" to mean that that is usually the case, but leaving room for an exception. "Usually" would refer to those frequent periods of time when the speaker has fruit. Notice that you can also say:
- Now and then I have fruit every day (there are times when I get into the habit of eating fruit every day, but then I cease to do it).
Oh, I see. I just have to think about it as periods of time. Thank you!
