Published September 11, 2012 • Updated June 17, 2026 — By French teacher David Issokson, teaching French online since 2014
French adverbs (les adverbes) modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They provide information about how, when, where, or to what extent an action occurs. Common French adverbs include bien (well), mal (badly), vite (quickly), souvent (often), toujours (always), maintenant (now), and rarement (rarely).
This lesson explains the most important French adverbs, how to form them, and where to place them in sentences.
✅ Common French adverbs
✅ Adverbs of manner
✅ Forming adverbs with -ment
✅ Adverb placement
✅ Adverbs of time
✅ Adverbs of place
What are French adverbs?
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
Je parle bien.
I speak well.
Elle court rapidement.
She runs quickly.
Nous arrivons demain.
We’re arriving tomorrow.
Ils habitent ici.
They live here.
Common French adverbs
The following are among the most commonly used French adverbs.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| bien | well |
| mal | badly |
| vite | quickly |
| lentement | slowly |
| beaucoup | a lot |
| un peu | a little |
| souvent | often |
| toujours | always |
| maintenant | now |
| rarement | rarely |
| aussi | also |
| trop | too, too much |
Examples
Il joue bien au tennis.
He plays tennis well.
Elle joue mal au volley-ball.
She plays volleyball poorly.
Elle aime beaucoup voyager.
She likes traveling a lot.
Il parle un peu français.
He speaks a little French.
Marc invite souvent Sylvie.
Marc often invites Sylvie.
Elle étudie maintenant.
She’s studying now.
Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner describe how an action is performed.
Elle parle vite.
She speaks quickly.
Ils donnent généreusement.
They give generously.
Nous travaillons sérieusement.
We work seriously.
Many French adverbs of manner are formed by adding -ment to an adjective.
Forming adverbs with -ment
Add -ment to the feminine adjective
| Masculine adjective | Feminine adjective | Adverb | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| heureux | heureuse | heureusement | fortunately |
| doux | douce | doucement | gently |
| fier | fière | fièrement | proudly |
| naïf | naïve | naïvement | naively |
| poli | polie | poliment | politely |
Adjectives ending in a vowel
When an adjective already ends in a vowel, simply add -ment.
| Adjective | Adverb | English |
|---|---|---|
| absolu | absolument | absolutely |
| brave | bravement | bravely |
| calme | calmement | calmly |
| facile | facilement | easily |
| libre | librement | freely |
Adjectives ending in -ant
Replace -ant with -amment.
| Adjective | Adverb | English |
|---|---|---|
| abondant | abondamment | abundantly |
| constant | constamment | constantly |
| fréquent | fréquemment | frequently |
| puissant | puissamment | powerfully |
| suffisant | suffisamment | sufficiently |
Adjectives ending in -ent
Replace -ent with -emment.
| Adjective | Adverb | English |
|---|---|---|
| conscient | consciemment | consciously |
| diligent | diligemment | diligently |
| innocent | innocemment | innocently |
| patient | patiemment | patiently |
| récent | récemment | recently |
Common irregular adverbs
| French | English |
|---|---|
| bien | well |
| mal | badly |
| mieux | better |
| pis | worse |
Elle parle bien.
She speaks well.
Je chante mal.
I sing poorly.
Je me sens mieux aujourd’hui.
I feel better today.
Adverb placement
In general, adverbs of manner follow the verb they modify.
Je travaille assidûment.
I work diligently.
Je fais du ski fréquemment.
I ski frequently.
Je réponds intelligemment aux questions.
I answer the questions intelligently.
Adverbs in the passé composé
In the passé composé, Short adverbs usually come between the auxiliary verb and past participle.
J’ai bien joué.
I played well.
Elle a mal chanté.
She sang poorly.
Nous avons beaucoup travaillé.
We worked a lot.
Longer adverbs generally follow the past participle.
J’ai appris facilement.
I learned easily.
Nous avons travaillé sérieusement.
We worked seriously.
Adverbs of time
Adverbs of time indicate when an action occurs.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| aujourd’hui | today |
| demain | tomorrow |
| hier | yesterday |
| maintenant | now |
| bientôt | soon |
| déjà | already |
| encore | still, again |
| toujours | always |
| souvent | often |
| parfois | sometimes |
| rarement | rarely |
| jamais | never |
| récemment | recently |
| actuellement | currently |
| longtemps | for a long time |
Examples
Je me lève tôt mais tu te lèves tard.
I get up early but you get up late.
Je dîne toujours avant 18h00.
I always eat dinner before 6:00 PM.
Je nage rarement ces jours-ci.
I rarely swim these days.
J’habite actuellement dans l’ouest des États-Unis.
I currently live in the western United States.
Tu devrais faire du sport tous les jours.
You should exercise every day.
Adverbs of place
Adverbs of place indicate where an action occurs.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| ici | here |
| là | there |
| là-bas | over there |
| ailleurs | elsewhere |
| partout | everywhere |
| nulle part | nowhere |
| quelque part | somewhere |
| dedans | inside |
| dehors | outside |
| devant | in front of |
| derrière | behind |
| près | near |
| loin | far |
Examples
Le chien est derrière la maison.
The dog is behind the house.
Va ailleurs !
Go somewhere else!
Le taxi tourne à droite.
The taxi is turning right.
Continue tout droit.
Keep going straight ahead.
La voiture est devant la maison.
The car is in front of the house.
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- French negation
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- French present tense
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Hi Ryck – yes, that’s right. Merci!
Le chien mange rapidement.
The dog eats rapidly.
I noticed that “ment” is what’s added and not just “ent” to most adjectives to form an adverb. Is that right?