By the end of this lesson you'll be able to make adverbs from adjectives, say how often and how well you do something, and put these words in the right place.
What an adverb does
An adjective describes a noun, as you know from the lesson on adjective agreement. An adverb describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb. It tells you how, how often or how much. Unlike adjectives, adverbs never change their ending.
Making adverbs with -ment
Many adverbs are made by taking the feminine adjective and adding -ment, which is like "-ly" in English.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| lentement | lahnt-MAHN | slowlyFrom lent / lente. |
| heureusement | uh-ruhz-MAHN | fortunatelyFrom heureux / heureuse. |
| doucement | doos-MAHN | gently, quietlyFrom doux / douce. |
| rapidement | rah-peed-MAHN | quicklyFrom rapide. |
| facilement | fah-seel-MAHN | easilyFrom facile. |
If the masculine form ends in -e, like rapide or facile, that's the form you use anyway.
Here are the verbs and nouns you'll need for this lesson.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| parler | par-LAY | to speak |
| dormir | dor-MEER | to sleepIl dort. J'ai dormi. |
| marcher | mar-SHAY | to walk |
| manger | mahn-ZHAY | to eatJ'ai mangé. |
| le lit | luh LEE | the bed |
Elle marche rapidement.
She walks quickly.
Heureusement, ce n'est pas grave.
Fortunately, it's not serious.
Special patterns
Two groups of adjectives work differently, and a couple of everyday adverbs are exceptions.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| évidemment | ay-vee-dah-MAHN | obviously, of courseFrom évident. |
| constamment | kohn-stah-MAHN | constantlyFrom constant. |
| vraiment | vreh-MAHN | reallyFrom vrai. |
| poliment | poh-lee-MAHN | politelyFrom poli. |
- Adjectives in -ent make adverbs in -emment: évident becomes évidemment. Lent is an exception, as you've seen: it's lentement.
- Adjectives in -ant make adverbs in -amment: constant becomes constamment.
- These two endings sound the same, with the vowel of a, so you have to remember the spelling.
- When the masculine adjective ends in a vowel, add -ment to it directly: vrai gives vraiment, and poli gives poliment.
Tu as vraiment mal ?
Does it really hurt?
Bien, mal, vite
Three of the most common adverbs have no -ment at all.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| bien | byan | well |
| mal | mahl | badly |
| vite | veet | quickly, fast |
Bien and mal are adverbs. Their adjectives are bon and mauvais.
Il dort bien.
He sleeps well.
Elle parle vite.
She speaks fast.
How often and how much
You already know souvent (often) from the review of free time. Here are some more.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| parfois | par-FWAH | sometimes |
| très | treh | very |
| trop | troh | too, too much |
| assez | ah-SAY | enough; fairly |
For toujours and jamais, see the lesson on other negative expressions.
- Très goes before adjectives and adverbs: très fatigué, très bien. It doesn't go before a verb.
- Trop means "too" before an adjective, and "too much" after a verb: C'est trop cher, Il mange trop.
- Assez means "fairly" before an adjective, and "enough" after a verb: Il est assez grand (He's fairly tall), Il mange assez (He eats enough).
Je marche souvent et je mange parfois à midi.
I often walk, and I sometimes eat at noon.
Where they go
In the present, an adverb normally comes right after the verb.
Nous dormons mal.
We sleep badly.
In the passé composé, use this as a guide. Short everyday adverbs go between the auxiliary and the participle. Most -ment adverbs go after the participle.
J'ai bien mangé.
I ate well.
Il a mal compris.
He misunderstood.
J'ai trop bu.
I drank too much.
Elle a parlé doucement.
She spoke quietly.
The participles here come from the lesson on the passé composé with avoir and the lesson on irregular past participles.
En français
- Tu as bien dormi ? (Did you sleep well?)
- Non, j'ai mal dormi. Je suis très fatigué. (No, I slept badly. I'm very tired.)
- Tu travailles trop ! (You work too much!)
- Évidemment ! (Obviously!)
- Tu marches parfois ? (Do you sometimes walk?)
- Oui, souvent, mais lentement. (Yes, often, but slowly.)
What's next
Next, the review of this unit brings together injuries, advice and adverbs. Later on, the lesson on comparatives builds on these adverbs.