Les adverbes

In this post, Les adverbes, you are going to learn what French adverbs are, where to place them in a sentence, and how to use them correctly.

An adverb is a word that gives more information about:

a verb: Il parle lentement. (He speaks slowly.)
an adjective: Elle est très gentille. (She is very kind.)
another adverb: Il conduit trop vite. (He drives too fast.)
a whole sentence: Heureusement, il n’a pas plu. (Fortunately, it didn’t rain.)

Les adverbes: Overview & Exercises

What Is an Adverb?
Adverbs in Simple Sentences
Adverbs in Compound Tenses
Adverbs in Negative Sentences
Adverbs with Infinitives
Adverbs Modifying Adjectives or Other Adverbs
Types of Adverbs
Quiz: Les adverbes

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1. What Is an Adverb?

Adverbs are an important part of language because they help us describe actions and situations more precisely. They can give us information about time, place, frequency, quantity, or manner.

For example:

Time: Je pars demain. (I am leaving tomorrow.)
Place: Il habite ici. (He lives here.)
Frequency: Nous voyageons souvent. (We often travel.)
Quantity: Elle travaille beaucoup. (She works a lot.)
Manner: Tu parles doucement. (You speak softly.)

French adverbs can consist of:

One word: demain, très, vite, ici
A group of words: tout à coup, de temps en temps, jusque-là
A word ending in -ment: simplement, lentement, heureusement

Unlike adjectives, adverbs are invariable. This means that they do not change according to gender or number.

Il parle lentement.
Elle parle lentement.
Ils parlent lentement.

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2. Adverbs in Simple Sentences (One Verb)

In a sentence with one conjugated verb, many adverbs are placed after the verb.

Il parle bien français. (He speaks French well.)
Elle marche lentement. (She walks slowly.)
Nous voyageons souvent. (We often travel.)
Vous travaillez beaucoup. (You work a lot.)

Adverbs of time and place are often placed at the beginning or end of the sentence.

Aujourd’hui, je travaille à la maison. (Today, I am working at home.)
Je travaille à la maison aujourd’hui. (I am working at home today.)
Mes amis habitent ici. (My friends live here.)

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3. Adverbs in Compound Tenses

A compound tense, such as the passé composé, contains an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and a past participle.

Short and common adverbs such as bien, mal, beaucoup, déjà, souvent, and toujours are generally placed between the auxiliary verb and the past participle.

Il a bien travaillé. (He worked well.)
J’ai déjà terminé. (I have already finished.)
Nous avons souvent visité ce musée. (We have often visited this museum.)
Elle a beaucoup étudié. (She studied a lot.)

Longer adverbs, especially adverbs ending in -ment, are commonly placed after the past participle.

Elle a répondu calmement. (She answered calmly.)
Ils ont travaillé sérieusement. (They worked seriously.)

Adverbs of time and place are also commonly placed at the end of the sentence.

Nous sommes arrivés hier. (We arrived yesterday.)
J’ai laissé mes clés ici. (I left my keys here.)

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4. Adverbs in Negative Sentences

In a simple negative sentence, many adverbs are placed after pas.

Il ne parle pas bien français. (He does not speak French well.)
Elle ne travaille pas beaucoup. (She does not work a lot.)
Nous ne voyageons pas souvent. (We do not travel often.)

In compound tenses, the exact position depends on the adverb. Short and common adverbs are generally placed between pas and the past participle.

Je n’ai pas bien compris. (I did not understand well.)
Nous n’avons pas souvent vu ce film. (We have not often seen this film.)
Elle n’a pas beaucoup étudié. (She did not study much.)

Longer adverbs may be placed after the past participle.

Il n’a pas répondu clairement. (He did not answer clearly.)

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5. Adverbs with Infinitives

When an adverb directly modifies an infinitive, it is generally placed before the infinitive.

Il faut bien écouter. (You must listen carefully.)
Vous devez toujours vérifier vos réponses. (You must always check your answers.)
Elle veut mieux comprendre le français. (She wants to understand French better.)

However, many adverbs of manner ending in -ment sound more natural after the infinitive.

Vous devez parler clairement. (You must speak clearly.)
Il faut répondre poliment. (You must answer politely.)

Be careful: an adverb can sometimes modify the conjugated verb instead of the infinitive.

Elle préfère toujours manger tôt. (She always prefers to eat early.)

Here, toujours describes how often she prefers something, so it is placed after the conjugated verb préfère.

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6. Adverbs Modifying Adjectives or Other Adverbs

When an adverb modifies an adjective, it is placed directly before the adjective.

Elle est très intelligente. (She is very intelligent.)
Le film est vraiment intéressant. (The movie is really interesting.)
Cette activité est assez facile. (This activity is quite easy.)

When an adverb modifies another adverb, it is also placed directly before that adverb.

Il parle trop vite. (He speaks too quickly.)
Elle conduit très prudemment. (She drives very carefully.)
Vous répondez vraiment bien. (You answer really well.)

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7. Types of Adverbs

French adverbs can be organized into different categories according to the information they provide.

Adverbs of time: They tell us when something happens.

Examples: aujourd’hui, demain, hier, bientôt, tard.

Learn more: Les adverbes de temps
Adverbs of manner: They tell us how an action is performed.

Examples: bien, mal, vite, lentement, facilement.

Learn more: Les adverbes de manière
Adverbs of quantity: They indicate how much or to what degree.

Examples: beaucoup, peu, trop, assez, très.

Learn more: Les adverbes de quantité
Adverbs of place: They tell us where something happens.

Examples: ici, là, ailleurs, dehors, partout.

Learn more: Les adverbes de lieu