How To Use French Adverbs — Complete Guide For Beginners

French adverbs are words that words which describe how the action of a verb is carried out. They offer information pertaining to who, what, where, when and how. For example, “Je parle bien” (I speak well). The word “bien” offers information about how I speak. This page will cover there kinds of adverbs: adverbs of manner, adverbs of time and adverbs of place.

French adjectives are related to adverbs. Unlike an adverb, which gives more information about a verb, adjectives give more information about nouns. This page covers the rules for French adjectives in detail.

Examples of sentences with adverbs

Before we get into details, let’s look at few quick sentences with adverbs, which are underlined.

• Il parle honnêtement avec sa femme. He speaks honestly with his wife.
• Je pose la question poliment. I ask the question politely.
• Elle parle lentement. She speaks slowly.
• C’est exactement ce que je veux dire! That’s exactly what I want to say!

1. Adverbs of Manner

Adverbs of manner offer more details about the verbs mentioned in a sentence. For example, “Elle parle vite” (She speaks quickly) or “Ils donnent généreusement” (They give generously). Adverbs of manner typically end in-ment in French and -ly in English.

Adverbs of manner tables

Many French adverbs of manner are formed by adding -ment to the feminine form of adjective.

When a adjective ends in a vowel in the masculine form the adverb is formed simply by adding –ment.

When a masculine adjective ends in -ant or -ent, -ant gets replaced by -amment and -ent gets replaced by -emment.

Some adverbs are formed by adding -ément ot the end of the adjective.

• aisé -> aisément easily, comfortably
• sacré -> sacrément bloody (slang)
• précis -> précisement exactly
• énorme -> énormement enormously
• privé -> privément privately
• aveugle -> aveuglément blindly
• décidé -> décidément resolutely

There are some very common adverbs which we use all the time that are irregular.

• Elle parle bien. She speaks well.
• Je chante mal. I sing poorly.
• Je me sens mieux. I feel better.

Where to place adverb of manner

Generally speaking, adverbs of manner usually following the verb they modify.

• Je fais du ski fréquemment. I ski often.
• Je travaille assidûment. I work diligently.
• Je réponds intelligemment aux questions de mes étudiants. I answer my students’ questions intelligently. 

In the passé comosé short adverbs (e.g. bien, mal) come after the auxiliary verb and long adverbs follow the past participle.

Short adverbs:

• J’ai bien joué la chanson. I played the song well.
• Elle a mal chanté la chanson. She sang the song poorly.

Long adverbs:

• J’ai couru rapidement cet apres-midi. I ran fast this afternoon.
• J’ai appris les adverbes français facilement! I learned the French adverbs easily!

Adverbs of manner – summary video from Alexa

Alexa on YouTube provides an excellent tutorial on French adverbs of manner.

2. Adverbs of time

Adverbs of time are used to expression when actions happen. There are also adverbial expressions of time.

Placement of adverbs of time

The rules for placement of adverbs of time is not set in stone. Sometimes they follow the verb but sometimes they can come at the beginning of a sentence.

• Maintenant je mange du fromage. I’m eating cheese now.
  Je mange du fromage maintenant.
• Elle habite actuellement au Texas. She lives in Texas now.
  Actuellement elle habite au Texas.
• Je travaille tout le temps en ce moment. I’m working all the time now.
  En ce moment je travaille tout le temps.
• Auparavant je nageais tous les jours. I used to swim everyday.
  Je nageais tous les jours auparavant.

Example sentences with adverbs of time

The following are example sentences using adverbs of time.

• 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 have dinner before 6.00pm.
• Je nage rarement ces jours-ci. I rarely swim these days.
• J’habite actuellement dans l’ouest des États-Unis. I’m currently living in the western United States.
• Tu devrais faire du sport tous les jours. You should exercise every day.

The following video from YouLearnFrench summarizes adverbs of time.

3. Adverbs of place

Adverbs of place or location describe where an action occurs. For example, “Les enfants jouent dehors” (The children play outside) or “Je vais là-bas” (I’m going over there). The following list also includes some adverbial expressions.

The following table contains a comprehensive list of adverbs of place.

Example sentences of adverbs of place

The following example sentences contain adverbs of place, which are all underlined.

• 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 taking a right.
• Continue tout droit. Keep going straight ahead.
• La voiture est devant la maison. The car is in front of the house.

The following video from YouLearnFrench summarizes adverbs of place:

Discover more:

• Guide to French vocabulary
• Guide to French numbers
• Guide to French nouns

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.

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