Adverbs

uyant : bruyammant (noisy, noisily)
étonnant : étonnamment (surprising, surprisingly)
• When the adjective ends in -ent, the adverb will end in -emment, however, it is still pronounced
-amment.
innocent : innocemment (innocent, innocently)
intelligent : intelligemment (smart, smartly)
différent : différemment (different, differently)
Placement of adverbs :
• If an adverb modifies a verb, it will be placed directly after the verb, or between the auxiliary verb and the
past participle in a composite tense.
Elle court beaucoup. (She runs a lot.)
Il a bien réussi son coup. (She pulled it off well.)
• In a composite tense, longer or less common manner adverbs are placed after the past participle.
Josiane a parlé doucement. (Josiane spoke softly.)
Il a parlé poliment. (He spoke politely.)
• Some adverbs of time are placed at the beginning or end of a sentence.
Aujourd’hui, nous partons en vacances. (Today, we’re leaving on a vacation.)
Nous sommes allés au marché hier. (We went to the market yesterday.)
Ils sont partis tard. (They left late.)
• Most adverbs of place follow the past participle.
Nous sommes allés dehors. (We went outside.)
Je l’ai vu là-bas. (I saw it there.)
There are a few fixed expressions in which an adjective functions as an adverb and is therefore invariable.
coûter cher (to cost a lot)
sentir bon, sentir mauvais (to smell good, to smell bad)
travailler dur (to work hard)
parler fort, parler bas (to speak loudly, to speak softly)
Continue to practice forming and using adverbs. Adverbs are important words that are used in everyday
language, both orally and written. When practicing, do not forget to pay particular attention to the
placement of adverbs, as this is done differently in French than in English.
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