Adverbs · French grammar B1

Contents · B1

In this part, you will learn to say how something is done, how much, and where or which way. You will also learn to make an adverb from an adjective.

Most adverbs of manner are formed from the feminine adjective + -ment, and environ, presque and autant are used for amounts.

Formation

Adjective	Rule	Adverb
fort, doux, sérieux	feminine + -ment	fortement, doucement, sérieusement
poli, vrai, rapide	masculine ending in a vowel + -ment	poliment, vraiment, rapidement
prudent, récent, évident	-ent → -emment (but lent → lentement)	prudemment, récemment, évidemment
méchant, bruyant, élégant	-ant → -amment	méchamment, bruyamment, élégamment
gentil, bref	irregular	gentiment, brièvement

-ment is added to the feminine of the adjective: lent → lente → lentement, doux → douce → doucement, heureux → heureuse → heureusement. When the masculine ends in a vowel, -ment is added to the masculine: poli → poliment, vrai → vraiment, facile → facilement.
An adjective in -ent or -ant takes -emment or -amment, both pronounced with the sound of a.
A few adverbs take -ément: précis → précisément, énorme → énormément.
Bien and mal are the adverbs of bon and mauvais.

Place in the sentence

An adverb of manner is usually placed after the conjugated verb: Il parle lentement. (“He speaks slowly.”)
A short adverb is placed between the auxiliary and the past participle: Il a bien dormi. (“He slept well.”)
A long adverb in -ment usually follows the past participle: Il a répondu poliment. (“He answered politely.”)
A long adverb in -ment may also come before the past participle: Il a gentiment porté ma valise. (“He kindly carried my suitcase.”)

Environ, presque, autant

Environ (“about”) is placed before a number, for an estimate: environ trente personnes.
Presque (“almost”, “nearly”) is placed before the word it limits: presque fini.
In a negative sentence, presque is placed before rien and jamais: Je ne vois presque rien. (“I can see almost nothing.”)
Autant (“as much”) is used with a verb, and autant de with a noun: Il travaille autant que moi. (“He works as much as I do.”)

Difference from English

In English, -ly is added to the adjective itself: “slow”, “slowly”. In French, -ment is added to the feminine: lente → lentement.
In English, “well” and “badly” come after the verb. In French, bien and mal are placed before the past participle: Il a bien dormi. (“He slept well.”)

Common mistakes

~~Marchez prudentement sur la glace.~~ → Marchez prudemment sur la glace.The adverb of an adjective in -ent ends in -emment.
~~Elle parle douxment.~~ → Elle parle doucement.-ment is added to the feminine form, douce.
~~Il mange aussi que moi.~~ → Il mange autant que moi.With a verb, “as much as” is autant que; aussi… que is used with an adjective or an adverb.

Remember

Add -ment to the feminine of the adjective: Elle parle doucement. (“She speaks softly.”)
For an adjective in -ent, use -emment: Marchez prudemment sur la glace. (“Walk carefully on the ice.”)
Put a short adverb between the auxiliary and the past participle: Il a bien dormi. (“He slept well.”)
With a verb, use autant que for “as much as”: Il mange autant que moi. (“He eats as much as I do.”)

You now know how to make adverbs in -ment and how to use environ, presque and autant.

“Adverbs: -ment, environ, partout; car, puisque, dès que”, Adverbs in -ment: prudemment, brièvement “Adverbs: -ment, environ, partout; car, puisque, dès que”, About, almost, as much: environ, presque, autant

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Adverbs and prepositions of place are used to say where something is, which way one goes, or among what.

Le voleur est entré par la fenêtre de la cuisine.The burglar came in through the kitchen window.
Ce soir, je dîne en ville avec des collègues.This evening I’m having dinner in town with colleagues.
Parmi tous ses livres, je préfère le dernier.Of all his books, I prefer the last one.
Ce restaurant est plein, cherchons ailleurs.This restaurant is full, let’s look somewhere else.
J’ai cherché mes lunettes partout.I looked for my glasses everywhere.
Les enfants courent autour de la maison.The children are running around the house.

Use

Word	Meaning	Example
par	through, via, by way of	Nous sommes passés par Londres.
en	in, to (no article)	Je vais en ville.
parmi	among	parmi mes amis
entre	between (two)	entre la banque et la poste
ailleurs	somewhere else	Allons ailleurs.
partout	everywhere	Il y a des jouets partout.
autour de	around	autour du lac

Par is used for the way one passes through: passer par Lyon, entrer par la fenêtre, par ici.
En is used without an article before a few places seen as an activity: en ville, en classe.
Parmi (“among”) is used for a group of three or more, and entre for two.
Ailleurs means “somewhere else”, partout means “everywhere”, and autour de means “around”.

Adverbs and place words, in short

Point	Rule	Example
adverb of manner	feminine + -ment	lentement, doucement
ending in a vowel	masculine + -ment	vraiment, poliment
-ent, -ant	-emment, -amment	prudemment, méchamment
about, almost, as much	environ, presque, autant	environ dix minutes
through; among	par; parmi	par la porte, parmi nous
elsewhere, everywhere, around	ailleurs, partout, autour de	partout en ville

Difference from English

For the way in or the place one passes, English “through”, “via” and “by way of” are translated by par. “Through the window” is par la fenêtre.

Common mistakes

~~Je vais dans la ville pour faire des courses.~~ → Je vais en ville pour faire des courses.“Into town”, “in town” is en ville, with no article.
~~Les enfants courent autour la maison.~~ → Les enfants courent autour de la maison.Before a noun, autour is followed by de.

Remember

Use par for the way through: Nous sommes passés par Londres. (“We went via London.”)
Use en ville with no article: Je vais en ville pour faire des courses. (“I’m going into town to do some shopping.”)
Before a noun, use autour de: Les enfants courent autour de la maison. (“The children are running around the house.”)

You now know how to say where and which way with par, en, parmi, ailleurs, partout and autour de.

“Adverbs: -ment, environ, partout; car, puisque, dès que”, par, en, parmi, ailleurs, autour, partout

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