Adverbs
What is an adverb?
An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
Mary drives well
The house is very big
The girl ran too quickly
Formation of adverbs:
Most French adverbs are formed by adding –ment to the feminine form of the
adjective.
Douce – doucement
Normale - normalement
However, if an adjective ends in –ent or –ant the endings change to –emment
or –amment. (The only exception is lent).
There are a group of adverbs that are single words in their own right (the
most common are listed below).
Position of adverbs:
In French, adverbs which qualify a verb come as close to it as possible,
usually directly after it.
Nous allons souvent au théâtre
Adverbs of time usually come before a past participle.
J’ai déjà vu le film
Adverb or adjective?
It is important that you distinguish one from the other. Remember, adverbs
are invariable (they do not agree with the noun they modify) whereas
adjectives do agree.
Study tips:
1. Create flashcards for each French adverb you learn and its English
equivalent.
2. When you learn the placement of adverbs in a sentence, add sample
sentences illustrating their placement.
Common adverbs:
Très
Assez
Trop
Peu
Beaucoup
Déjà
Souvent
Bientôt
Ici
Là
Partout
Ensemble
Debout
Mieux
Moins
Bien
Mal
Vite