Describir frecuencia, tiempo, grado de acciones

How often…?

How many times…?

Is used to ask questions about the frequency of an event.

It doesn’t require a specific period of time, it can be in general.

For example:

How often do you go to the cinema?

I don’t know how often he should read a book.

Is used to ask questions about the exact amount of times of an event.

Requires the context of a specific time period.

For example:

How many times have you seen your favourite film?

How many times a week should I take her to school?

The answers to these questions, are usually:

Frequency adverbs. E.g:

• Always  
• Sometimes
• Never

Frequency phrases. E.g:

• Every day
• Once a day*

The answers to these questions are always:

A numeral adjective. E.g:

• Five times
• Three times
• Twice
• One time
• Once*

You have to be careful with the expressions once a… / twice a… / three times a… / four times a… / etc.

When you ask a question using “How often”, you must indicate the period of time in your answer. E.g:

A: How often do you to the church?
B: I only go twice a year.

Sentence

Explanation

How many times do you go to the store?

INCORRECT

This doesn’t make sense assuming that it’s a question standing all by itself with no context, because nobody knows the exact number of times he or she has gone to the store in his or her life.

How many times do you go to the store in one week?

CORRECT

Here, we have a period of time, so we can know the number of times we have gone to the store.

How often do you go to the store?

CORRECT

This question doesn’t give you a period of time, but it doesn’t ask for a number either, just a frequency adverb to give a general idea.

How often a week do you play tennis?

INCORRECT

When we use “how often” we don’t need a period of time because we are asking in general terms.

How many times do you play tennis?

INCORRECT

It is impossible to know the exact number of times you have play tennis in your life, so, unless you have a context, this question would be incorrect. 

How many times a week do you play tennis?

CORRECT