Adverbs
Adverbs
Adverbs are words which describe verbs - they tell you how you do something.
For example:
| He drives carefully |
| She sings badly |
You can see that most adverbs in English end in ...ly but not all (e.g. well, fast etc.).
Adverbs in French perform the same function - they describe the verb (and since verbs are not masculine or feminine, adverbs do not change).
Use the Learn-Its to find out more.
To form the adverb (for example, slowly) start with the adjective:
- slow = lent
- make it feminine = lente (remember some adjectives do more than just an 'e' to make them feminine)
- add ment so lentement = slowly
However there are exceptions, these are:
1. Adjectives that end in a vowel do not add an 'e' in stage 2 above.
For example:
| poli = polite |
| poliment = politely |
2. Adjectives that end in ant or ent become amment/emment
For example:
| bruyant = noisy |
| bruyamment = noisily |
3. vite stays as vite
Adverbs normally go after the verb they are describing. In the perfect tense, where there are two verbs, it goes between the two verbs.
For example: J'ai assez mangé = I've eaten enough
However if the adverb is a long word (4 or 5 syllables), it normally goes after the second verb in the perfect tense.
Better and best in English can be adjectives or adverbs depending on whether they mean more good or more well.
| John is good | Bill is better means 'more good' | David is (the) best means 'most good' | = Adjective |
| or | |||
| John plays well | Bill plays better means 'more well' | David plays (the) best means 'most well' | = Adverbs |
In French 'better' and 'best' have two forms as below:
| good = bon | better (more good) = meilleur | best ( most good) = le meilleur |
| Because these are adjectives, they become feminine and plural - bonne/meilleure/la meilleure, etc. | ||
| also | ||
| well = bien | better (more well) = mieux | best ( most well) = le mieux |
| Because these are adverbs, they never change - not even the 'le' in 'le mieux' | ||
Form the adverb from the following adjectives: