Often, it is difficult to find a great list of French adverbs alongside their definitions to look over and practice when learning the French language. On top of this, it can be difficult to know where to place these adverbs in a sentence.

That is where we come in, at Italki.com, we are experts in helping those tackle their difficulties in learning French, and have compiled a helpful guide on French adverbs for you to help you get started.

In this guide you will:

  • Learn more about how to form French adverbs
  • Understand where to place them in a sentence
  • Find a list of common French adverbs and their translations

By learning this vital information, you will be able to understand French further, making it easier to master the language and add these adverbs to your everyday French conversation. Let’s get started.

What are French adverbs

Adverbs in any language are words that describe or change verbs, other adverbs, or adjectives to give further detail or context. It can change any kind of word apart from nouns. They can change the meaning of entire sentences with their addition, and this is the same in the French language. While in English, many verbs will end with the letters ‘ly’, the most common French adverbs will end in the phrase ‘ment’, but there are also other examples to look for.

How to form a normal French adverb from an adjective

As we mentioned above, the most common French adverbs end in ‘ment’, so let’s take a look at the basic rules.

If the adjective you are looking to form an adverb from ends with a vowel, then ‘ment’ can be added directly on to the end. For example absolu becomes absolument. If, however, the word ends in a consonant, then an ‘e’ should be added to the end of the world, changing it to the feminine form, before adding ‘ment’ on the end. An example of this is normal, which becomes normalement.

Within the French language there are some adjectives that have a silent ‘e’ at the end of the word – for example, intense. In these cases, an accent should be placed on top of the ‘e’ before adding ‘ment’ onto the end of the world – therefore, intense becomes intensément.

Any French adjectives that end in either ‘ent’ or ‘ant’ have different endings when they become adverbs. The letters ‘amment’ and ‘emment’ should be added on to these words respectively. For example, courant becomes couramment, and evident becomes evidemment..

Finally, there are some adverbs that do not follow any of the rules above, and instead, have to be remembered. See the table below for some examples of these:

AdjectiveAdverb
bonbien
mauvaismal
meilleurmieux
petitpeu

There are many different types of French adverbs, each with its own way of changing a sentence. In the next section below is a table of some of the most common adverbs within the French language.

List of French Adverbs

There are many different adverbs within the French language, with many sharing similar endings as discussed above. Below is a list of French adverbs that are commonly used, as well as their English translation to help you get started. The list is in alphabetical order for your convenience.

You will notice that many of the adverbs end in the phrase ‘ment’, and this can help you identify them when reading French text or practising speaking in French.

French Adverb English Translation
absolumentabsolutely
actuellementcurrently
ailleurselsewhere
alorsso
ainsithus; so
aprèsafter
assezquite, fairly
aujourd’huitoday
aussias; as well
aussitôtimmediately
autantas much
autrefoisin the old days
autrementdifferently
autouraround
avantbefore
avant-hieron the day before yesterday
avecWith
beaucoupa lot
baslow
bienwell
bientôtwell
bientôtsoon
brusquementAbruptly
cependantnonetheless
certesadmittedly
certainementcertainly
cihere
combienhow much/many
commeas
commenthow
complètementCompletely
d’abordfirst
davantagemore
deboutstanding
dehorsdehors
déjàalready
delàbeyond
beyondtomorrow
depuissince
dernièrementlately
désormaisfrom now on, henceforth
dessusdessus
devantin front of
doucementDoucement
égalementégalement
encoreagain/still
enfinfinally; eventually
ensembletogether
ensuitenext, then
énormémentenormously
environAbout
facilementeasily
franchementFrankly
gentimentkindly
guèreHardly
hauthigh
heureusementfortunately
hieryesterday
icihere
immédiatementImmediately
jamaisNever
there
là-basover there
là-dedansin here, in there
là-dessuson here; on there
largementgreatly; well
légèrementlightly; slightly
lentementslowly
loinfar
longtempsfor a long time
lorswhen
lors deDuring
maintenantnow
malpoorly; badly
mêmeeven
moinsless
mieuxBetter
naturellementnaturally
nenot
nonno; not
ouiYes
parfoissometimes
partouteverywhere
pasnot
parfaitementperfectly
peufew, little
peut-êtreperhaps
plutôtrather
plusmore, ___-er
pointhardly any; almost no
pourquoiwhy
pourtantyet
précédemmentpreviously
précisémentprecisely
premièrementfirstly
prèsnear
presquenearly
profondémentprofoundly
puisThen
quelquesome
quelque partSomewhere
rapidementrapidly
rarementRarely
seulementonly
sérieusementseriously
simplementsimply
sias/so
soudainsuddenly
souventoften
surtoutEspecially
tantso much
tantôtsometimes
tardlate
tellementso (much)
tôtearly
toujoursalways
toutall
trèsvery
troptoo much
vitequickly
vraimentreally

Common French Adverbs Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Below are some of the most commonly asked questions on French adverbs, and the answers that you need to know from our expert French teacher online.

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Where do adverbs fit in French sentences?

Within the French language, the adverb is added to a sentence after the verb, with its purpose being to change the meaning of the verb by adding more detail. If the adverb is in the sentence to change another adverb or an adjective, then it should instead go before the word in question.

Are there any patterns in the formation of French adverbs and their spelling?

If the adjective that the adverb is attached to ends with a letter that is a vowel, then the adverb is likely to end in the phrase ‘ment’. On the other hand, if it ends in a consonant, you will first need to add an ‘e’ by changing it to the feminine form, before adding ‘ment’ at the end.

What about if the sentence in French is describing a time?

If the sentence in French is describing when an action happened, or how often or how long it lasts, then the adverb should be added after both the object and the verb within the sentence.

Where do I put the adverb in a negative form French sentence?

When you are writing or speaking a sentence that is in the negative form, the adverb itself should be added into the sentence after the phrase ‘pas’.

How can italki help you?

If you are looking to learn more about the French language and learn French online, then look no further than italki.com. Our expert staff can help you out with a number of different French queries about translations, how to build your sentences, and how to answer questions in French. Learning a new language can be challenging, but our expert staff is here to help with any questions you may have. Join one of our French classes today to give it a try, or contact us to ask any questions.

Conclusion

To sum it up, adverbs can be used within the French language to change different types of words such as verbs and adjectives to give more detail. They cannot, however, be used on nouns. Within French, adverbs can be used to describe a number of different things, such as the frequency, the manner, or the place in which something happened.

We hope that our list of French adverbs will help you get started. You will notice a lot of the words on our list end in the phrase ‘ment’ and this is a great way to start to identify them within French writing. To learn more about French grammar, and to master more of the language, why not learn French online today, by booking a lesson with italki.com.

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