French Adverbs
In French, les adverbes(adverbs) are often used to provide information about a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Many commonly used adverbs indicate how, when, where, how often, or how much something is done.
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While English adverbs often end in -ly, French adverbs often end in -ment. For example: gentiment(nicely), naturellement(naturally), constamment(constantly). However, there are many adverbs, including some of the most common ones, that don't follow this pattern.
Questions This Article Answers
What are adverbs and how are they used in French?
What are the most common adverbs in French?
How do I make an adverb from an adjective in French?
Where do I place an adverb in a sentence in French?
What is an adverb phrase and how do I use one in French?
What Is an Adverb in French?
In French, les adverbes(adverbs) often provide information about how, when, where, or to what degree something is happening. Adverbs can give details about verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, groups of words, or even whole sentences. Generally, adverbs fit into one of the following categories: manner, time, place, frequency, quantity, or degree. You'll see a list of common adverbs in each of these categories in the second half of this article, but for now, here are a few examples of different types of adverbs and the ways they can be used in sentences in French!
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Adverbs Formed From Adjectives in French
You may know that English adverbs often end in -ly. In French, adverbs often end in -ment. A lot of the time, a French adverb can be formed from its corresponding adjective. Here's an example!
Here are the rules for how to form a French adverb from an adjective. Keep in mind, however, that there are always some exceptions to the rules and that not all adverbs have a corresponding adjective.
Rule 1. The Main Rule: Add -MENT to the Feminine Form of an Adjective
In many cases, you can add -ment to the feminine form of an adjective to turn it into an adverb in French. Take a look at some of the examples below!
Adverbs Made From Feminine Adjectives in French
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Exceptions to Rule #1
Sometimes, an acute accent is added to the final -e of the feminine adjective when it's combined with -ment to form an adverb. There’s no rule of thumb for when this occurs. It's something that must be memorized! Here are some common adverbs that follow this exception to Rule #1.
Want a refresher on basic French adjectives or how to form feminine adjectives in French? Review the rules for formation and placement of adjectives with these articles:
Rule 2. Add -MENT to the Masculine Form of Adjectives That End in -I, -U, or -É
If a French adjective ends in -i, -u, or -é in the masculine form, simply add -ment to turn it into an adverb. Check out the table below for a few examples of adjectives that follow Rule #2.
Adverbs Made From Masculine Adjectives Ending in -I, -U, or -É in French
| Masculine Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|
| absolu(absolute) | absolument(absolutely) |
| assuré(sure) | assurément(surely) |
| poli(polite) | poliment(politely) |
| résolu(resolute) | résolument(resolutely) |
| vrai(true) | vraiment(truly) |
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Rule 3. Drop the -NT and Add -MMENT to the Masculine Form of Adjectives That End in -ANT or -ENT
French adjectives that end in -ant or -ent in the masculine form can be used to form an adverb in French by dropping the -nt and adding -mment.
Adverbs Made From Masculine Adjectives Ending in -ANT or -ENT in French
| Masculine Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|
| constant(constant) | constamment(constantly) |
| évident(evident) | évidemment(evidently) |
| patient(patient) | patiemment(patiently) |
| suffisant(sufficient) | suffisamment(sufficiently) |
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Rule 4. Some French Adverbs Are Unpredictable
Lastly, some French adverbs made from adjectives don't follow any of the rules above! Here are some common ones to remember.
Examples of Adverbs That Are Unpredictable in French
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Saying Better in French
You may have noticed in the table above that there are two different words for better in French: the adjective meilleur(e) and the adverb mieux. Remember that adjectives generally describe people, places, or things, while adverbs generally describe actions. In the first example below, a person is being described, so the adjective is used. In the second example, an action is being described, so the adverb is used.
Adverbs Without Corresponding Adjectives in French
Many common French adverbs are not associated with an adjective at all. Here are just a few!
Common French Adverbs Without a Corresponding Adjective
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Placement of Adverbs in French
While there are general guidelines for the placement of adverbs in French, the rules are flexible, so don’t be surprised if you come across an adverb that doesn’t follow the patterns outlined below!
Placement Guideline 1. Put the Adverb After the Verb in French
Generally, with simple verb tenses like the present indicative, future, or present conditional, the adverb comes after the verb it is describing.
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However, with compound verb tenses like the passé composé, the pluperfect, or the past conditional, the adverb may come after the auxiliary verb (before the past participle) or after the past participle. In particular, adverbs of time and place and longer adverbs usually are placed after the past participle.
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Placement Guideline 2. Put the Adverb Before the Adjective in French
When an adverb is used to describe an adjective in French, the adverb is generally placed before the adjective.
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Placement Guideline 3. Put the Adverb Before the Adverb It Describes in French
When an adverb is describing another adverb, it is placed before the other adverb in the sentence.
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Placement Guideline 4. Put the Adverb at the Beginning or End of the Clause in French
If the adverb is modifying a group of words, like a clause or a whole sentence, it can come either at the beginning or at the end of the clause or sentence.
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More Common Adverbs in French
Here are some common adverbs of manner, time, place, frequency, quantity, and degree, followed by a list of common adverb phrases in French.
Examples of French Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of manner describe the way an action is occurring. They answer the question Comment ?(How?). There are many adverbs in this group. Here are a few common ones.
| French Adverb | English |
|---|---|
| bien | well |
| facilement | easily |
| gentiment | nicely |
| lentement | slowly |
| mal | badly |
| parfaitement | perfectly |
| poliment | politely |
| rapidement | rapidly |
| tranquillement | quietly |
| vite | fast |
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Saying Good and Bad in French
In everyday spoken English, we often use the adjectives good and bad in place of the adverbs well and badly. For example, people say: I sing good or I sing bad, instead of I sing well or I sing badly. While the use of adjectives as adverbs is common and accepted in spoken English, you should be careful not to use an adjective where an adverb is required in French. In French, the adjective and the adverb are not interchangeable in spoken language!
Examples of French Adverbs of Time
Adverbs of time answer the question Quand ?(When?). Here are some examples.
| French Adverb | English |
|---|---|
| après | after |
| aujourd'hui | today |
| avant | before |
| bientôt | soon |
| déjà | already |
| demain | tomorrow |
| ensuite | next |
| hier | yesterday |
| maintenant | now |
| tard | late |
| tôt | early |
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Examples of French Adverbs of Place
Adverbs of place answer the question Où ?(Where?). Here are a few common adverbs in this category!
| French Adverb | English |
|---|---|
| dedans | inside |
| dehors | outside |
| derrière | behind |
| devant | in front of |
| ici | here |
| là | there |
| loin | far |
| partout | everywhere |
| près | near |
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Examples of French Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of frequency answer the question À quelle fréquence ?(How often?). Check out these examples!
| French Adverb | English |
|---|---|
| constamment | constantly |
| jamais | never |
| parfois | sometimes |
| quelquefois | sometimes |
| rarement | rarely |
| régulièrement | regularly |
| souvent | often |
| toujours | always |
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Examples of French Adverbs of Quantity
Adverbs of quantity answer the question Combien ?(How much?). Here are a few examples.
| French Adverb | English |
|---|---|
| assez | enough |
| beaucoup | a lot |
| encore | more |
| moins | less |
| peu | little |
| plus | more |
| tout | all |
| trop | too much |
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Examples of French Adverbs of Degree
Adverbs of degree describe the intensity of something. They answer the questions Comment ? (How?) or Dans quelle mesure ?(To what extent?). Some of the adverbs in this group may also appear in other groups, and their meaning might be slightly different depending on how they are used in a sentence. For example: Tu parles trop.(You talk too much.) is about quantity, while Tu vas trop vite.(You're going too fast.) is about degree.
| French Adverb | English |
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| assez | quite |
| extrêmement | extremely |
| légèrement | slightly |
| plutôt | rather |
| si | so |
| très | very |
| trop | too |
| vraiment | really |
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Adverb Phrases in French
A French adverb phrase is a group of words that functions as an adverb. French adverb phrases follow the same guidelines for placement in a sentence as regular French adverbs and fit into the categories of adverbs described above, based on their meaning and usage.
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Other Types of Adverbs in French
In French, adverbs are also used when asking information questions (interrogative adverbs), when making verbs negative (adverbs of negation), and when comparing things or making superlative statements (comparative adverbs and superlative adverbs).
Examples of French Interrogative Adverbs
Interrogative adverbs are used when asking questions. Some of them are also adverbs of manner, quantity, or place, so they may appear in the tables above as well.
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Examples of French Adverbs of Negation
Adverbs of negation are used to respond in the negative or to negate the action of a verb. They are often used with necoming before the verb and the negative adverb coming after it. Here are a few common adverbs of negation.
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Examples of French Adverbs in Comparative Statements
In French, the adverbs aussi, moins, and plusare used in comparative sentences. When comparing two things, the adverb is most often placed before an adjective or another adverb, which is followed by que. Here are a few examples!
| Type of Comparison | French Comparative | English |
|---|---|---|
| Equal | aussi | as |
| Inferior | moins | less |
| Superior | plus | more (or adjective + -er) |
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Examples of French Adverbs in Superlative Statements
In French, the adverbs moins and plus are used in superlative statements. When you want to describe something as being of the highest or lowest degree in its group, most often you put the superlative adverb before an adjective or adverb, preceded by a definite article le, la, or les(the). Here are a couple of examples!
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Learn more about French with these articles!
