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General Form
Adjectives
modify nouns. Adverbs modify verbs. Their use in French is
similar to that in English. Different than adjectives, adverbs
do not vary with gender and number.
In general, to
form an adverb you should add the complement –ment to the
adjective. The conversion of adjectives to adverbs in English
works the same way, by adding –ly to the words.
Examples:
Il est precise.
He is precise. (adjective – the person is precise)
Il parle
precisement.
He talks precisely. (adverb – the way the person talks is
precise)
Other Words:
|
Adjective (basic form)
|
Adverb |
|
Rapid
Quick |
Rapidement
Quickly |
|
Rare
Rare |
Rarement
Rarely |
|
Douce
Sweet |
Doucement
Sweetly |
|
Heureuse
Happy / Fortunate |
Heureusement
Happily / Fortunately |
|
Malheureuse
Unfortunate |
Malheureusement
Unfortunately |
|
Intelligent
Intelligent |
Intelligentment
Intelligently |
|
Lent
Slow |
Lentment
Slowly |
Irregular Adverbs
Some adverbs to
be formed irregularly. The most common ones can be found in the
table below:
|
Adjective |
Adverb |
|
Bon(s) /
Bonne(s) |
Bien |
|
Meilleur(e)(s) |
Mieux |
|
Beaucoup |
Très |
|
Mauvais |
Mal |
Example:
C’est un
mauvais musicien. Il conduit très mal.
He is a bad
musician. He plays very badly.
Frequency adverbs
Adverbs can
also be used to express frequency of events.
|
Adverb |
Example
|
|
Tous les
jours
Everyday
|
Je me
brosse les dents tous les jours.
I brush my teeth everyday |
|
Souvent
Often
|
Je pratique
souvent du sport.
I often work out. |
|
Rarement
Rarely
|
Il va rarement au cinema.
He rarely goes to the movies. |
|
Ne….jamais
Never |
Je ne suis jamais allé lás-bás.
I’ve
never been there.
Je ne bois
jamais d’alcool.
I never drink alcohol. |
|
Toujours
Always
|
Je me rase
toujours le matin.
I always shave in the mornings. |
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