All about adverbs in French

Adverbs in French:

Adverbs give additional information about several things such as: a verb, an adjective or even another adverb. They are always invariable.

The different adverbs :
 

The adverbs of quantity :

They answer the question "how much?".

- Tu manges combien de tomates ? (How many tomatoes do you eat?)
- Je mange beaucoup de tomates. (I eat a lot of tomatoes.)

- Je ne fais pas assez de sport. (I don't do enough sports.)

Adverbs of time :

They answer the question "when?".

- Tu y vas quand ? (When are you going?)
- J'y vais après-demain. (I'm going there the day after tomorrow.)

- Tu vas souvent au cinéma ? (Do you go to the movies often?)
- J'y vais parfois. (I go there sometimes.)

Adverbs of place :

They answer the question "where?".

- Où vas-tu ? ( Where are you going?)
- Je vais quelque part. (I'm going somewhere.)

- Je vis devant la Tour Eiffel. (I live in front of the Eiffel Tower.)

Adverbs of manner :

They answer the question "how?".

- Comment travailles-tu ? (How do you work?)
- Je travaille tranquillement. (I work quietly.)

- Comment parle-t-il ? (How does he speak?)
- Il parle lentement. (He speaks slowly.)

The adverbs of negation, probability and affirmation :

- Tu les connais ? (Do you know them?)
- Non, je ne connais personne. (No, I don't know anyone)

- Oui, je vais bien. (Yes, I am fine.)

- Il viendra probablement demain. ( He will probably come tomorrow.)

The adverbs connectors of speech :

- Il a crié, puis il est parti. (He shouted, then he left.)

- Premièrement, je vais aller au supermarché. (First, I'm going to go to the supermarket.)

The construction of adverbs :

✓ To create an adverb in French, find the feminine form of the adjective and add "ment".
For example : 
Délicat → Délicate → Délicate + ment → Délicatement

For some adverbs, we need to add an accent for pronunciation.
Léger → Légèrement
 

✓ If the adjective ends with a vowel, the masculine form is used and "ment" is added.
For example : 
Joli → Joliment
 

✓ If the adjective ends with "ant" or "ent", this ending is removed and "emment" or "amment" is added:
For example : 
Méchant → Méchamment
Patient →  Patiemment
 

✓ Some irregular adverbs : vite, bien, mal
 

✓ Some adjectives are used as adverbs : cher, fort, dur, etc. (They are then, of course, invariable.)

The place of adverbs :

The adverb will have a different position depending on what it concerns:

✓ If the adverb relates to the sentence as a whole, it can move to the beginning, middle or end of the sentence.
For example : 
- Malheureusement, je ne pourrais pas venir ce soir. (Unfortunately, I won't be able to come tonight.)
- Je ne pourrais pas venir ce soir, malheureusement. (I won't be able to come tonight, unfortunately.)
- Je ne pourrais pas venir malheureusement, ce soir. (I won't be able to come, unfortunately tonight.)
 

✓ If the adverb relates to the verb, it is placed after the verb :
For example : 
- Elle part souvent travailler. (She often goes to work.)
 

✓ If the adverb relates to the verb, it is placed after the verb.
For example : 
- Nous buvons souvent du champagne. (We often drink champagne.)
 

✓ If the adverb relates to a compound tense :

These adverbs are usually placed between the conjugated verb and the past participle or infinitive.: presque ; bien ; beaucoup ; mal ; trop ; assez ; peu ; encore ; certainement ; sûrement ; etc.
For example : 
- Vos enfants ont trop mangé. (Your children have eaten too much.)
- Je vais encore partir en vacances. (I'm going on vacation again.)

These adverbs are usually placed after the conjugated verb and the past participle or the infinitive. : avant ; après ; tôt ; tard ; facilement ; lentement ; vite ; etc.
- Il a conduit vite. (He drove fast.)
- Tu vas te lever tôt. (You're going to get up early.)
 

✓ If the adverb relates to an adjective or another adverb, it is placed before it.
For example : 
- Tu es vraiment adorable. (You are really adorable.)
- Ils sont trop beaux. (They are too beautiful.)

It's your turn! Use an adverb in a sentence, write it in comment!

See you soon for new adventures, in French of course! 🇫🇷