Tất cả các biểu hiện được giới thiệu trong bài viết này đều tương đương với "sometimes," nhưng vẫn có những sự khác biệt nhỏ về sắc thái cho mỗi biểu hiện. Ví dụ, "once in a while" nghe gần gũi hơn với "rarely" và diễn đạt tần suất thấp hơn.

Occasionally

This can also be expressed with “on occasion,” which sounds a bit more formal.

Every now and then

This is another casual alternative for “sometimes,” but it expresses a frequency lower than 50%.

This expression is sometimes changed to “every now and again.”

Every so often

This is very similar to the previous expression.

When the mood strikes

This is an informal way of saying “whenever I get the feeling.” This means it can’t be included on our frequency scale; instead, it only happens at special times that cannot be planned or predicted.

Sporadically

“Sporadic” is an adjective meaning “happening infrequently.” Therefore, “sporadically” is similar to “when the mood strikes” — it happens suddenly or unexpectedly. 

As responses

Remember that all of these expressions can also be used alone as a response to a question about frequency.

John

Do you listen to jazz music?

Naima

Every now and then.

Mary

Do you go jogging a lot?

Ashley

From time to time. It depends on the weather that day.

Wrap-up

Being vague when discussing how often something happens is very convenient, especially if an accurate answer isn't necessary. So instead of simply repeating the same word, try some of these alternatives in your next English conversation. 

Using these expressions naturally will definitely bring you closer to native-level English, so be sure to study hard every day, not only once in a while!