Adverbs in French:
Adverbs give additional information about several things such as: a verb, an adjective or even another adverb. They are always invariable.
The different adverbs :
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Start practicingThe adverbs of quantity :
They answer the question "how much?".
- Tu manges combien de tomates ? (How many tomatoes do you eat?)
- Je mange beaucoup de tomates. (I eat a lot of tomatoes.)
- Je ne fais pas assez de sport. (I don't do enough sports.)
Adverbs of time :
They answer the question "when?".
- Tu y vas quand ? (When are you going?)
- J'y vais après-demain. (I'm going there the day after tomorrow.)
- Tu vas souvent au cinéma ? (Do you go to the movies often?)
- J'y vais parfois. (I go there sometimes.)
Adverbs of place :
They answer the question "where?".
- Où vas-tu ? ( Where are you going?)
- Je vais quelque part. (I'm going somewhere.)
- Je vis devant la Tour Eiffel. (I live in front of the Eiffel Tower.)
Adverbs of manner :
They answer the question "how?".
- Comment travailles-tu ? (How do you work?)
- Je travaille tranquillement. (I work quietly.)
- Comment parle-t-il ? (How does he speak?)
- Il parle lentement. (He speaks slowly.)
The adverbs of negation, probability and affirmation :
- Tu les connais ? (Do you know them?)
- Non, je ne connais personne. (No, I don't know anyone)
- Oui, je vais bien. (Yes, I am fine.)
- Il viendra probablement demain. ( He will probably come tomorrow.)
The adverbs connectors of speech :
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Try it free- Il a crié, puis il est parti. (He shouted, then he left.)
- Premièrement, je vais aller au supermarché. (First, I'm going to go to the supermarket.)
The construction of adverbs :
✓ To create an adverb in French, find the feminine form of the adjective and add "ment".
For example :
Délicat → Délicate → Délicate + ment → Délicatement
For some adverbs, we need to add an accent for pronunciation.
Léger → Légèrement
✓ If the adjective ends with a vowel, the masculine form is used and "ment" is added.
For example :
Joli → Joliment
✓ If the adjective ends with "ant" or "ent", this ending is removed and "emment" or "amment" is added:
For example :
Méchant → Méchamment
Patient → Patiemment
✓ Some irregular adverbs : vite, bien, mal
✓ Some adjectives are used as adverbs : cher, fort, dur, etc. (They are then, of course, invariable.)
The place of adverbs :
The adverb will have a different position depending on what it concerns:
✓ If the adverb relates to the sentence as a whole, it can move to the beginning, middle or end of the sentence.
For example :
- Malheureusement, je ne pourrais pas venir ce soir. (Unfortunately, I won't be able to come tonight.)
- Je ne pourrais pas venir ce soir, malheureusement. (I won't be able to come tonight, unfortunately.)
- Je ne pourrais pas venir malheureusement, ce soir. (I won't be able to come, unfortunately tonight.)
✓ If the adverb relates to the verb, it is placed after the verb :
For example :
- Elle part souvent travailler. (She often goes to work.)
✓ If the adverb relates to the verb, it is placed after the verb.
For example :
- Nous buvons souvent du champagne. (We often drink champagne.)
✓ If the adverb relates to a compound tense :
These adverbs are usually placed between the conjugated verb and the past participle or infinitive.: presque ; bien ; beaucoup ; mal ; trop ; assez ; peu ; encore ; certainement ; sûrement ; etc.
For example :
- Vos enfants ont trop mangé. (Your children have eaten too much.)
- Je vais encore partir en vacances. (I'm going on vacation again.)
These adverbs are usually placed after the conjugated verb and the past participle or the infinitive. : avant ; après ; tôt ; tard ; facilement ; lentement ; vite ; etc.
- Il a conduit vite. (He drove fast.)
- Tu vas te lever tôt. (You're going to get up early.)
✓ If the adverb relates to an adjective or another adverb, it is placed before it.
For example :
- Tu es vraiment adorable. (You are really adorable.)
- Ils sont trop beaux. (They are too beautiful.)
It's your turn! Use an adverb in a sentence, write it in comment!
See you soon for new adventures, in French of course! 🇫🇷
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