French Adverbs (Les Adverbes)

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Adverbs in French

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. In French, adverbs often answer questions like “how?”, “when?”, “where?”, or “to what extent?”. They can describe how an action is performed, how often it happens, or to what degree.

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1. Simple Adverbs

Some common French adverbs and their meanings:

French	English	Example (FR)	Example (EN)
très	very	Il est très gentil.	He is very kind.
trop	too much	Il parle trop vite.	He speaks too fast.
peu	little	Elle mange peu.	She eats little.
vite	quickly	Il court vite.	He runs quickly.
bien	well	Elle chante bien.	She sings well.
mal	badly	Il a mal dormi.	He slept badly.
tôt	early	Je me lève tôt.	I get up early.
tard	late	Il arrive tard.	He arrives late.

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2. Complex Adverbs

Some adverbs are made up of several words:

French	English	Example (FR)	Example (EN)
c’est-à-dire	that is to say	Il est bilingue, c’est-à-dire, il parle deux langues.	He is bilingual, that is to say, he speaks two languages.
tout à fait	absolutely/completely	Je suis tout à fait d’accord.	I completely agree.
au fur et à mesure	as/while	Au fur et à mesure, il progresse.	As time goes by, he improves.
en général	in general	En général, il fait beau ici.	In general, it’s nice here.
de temps en temps	from time to time	Je voyage de temps en temps.	I travel from time to time.

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3. Adverbs Derived from Adjectives

Many adverbs are formed by adding -ment to the feminine form of an adjective.

Adjective (FR)	Adverb (FR)	English	Example (FR)	Example (EN)
rapide	rapidement	quickly	Il répond rapidement.	He answers quickly.
heureux	heureusement	fortunately	Heureusement, il est là.	Fortunately, he is here.
facile	facilement	easily	Elle apprend facilement.	She learns easily.
doux	doucement	gently	Il parle doucement.	He speaks gently.

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Exercises

1. Complete with the correct adverb (FR/EN)

Complete with the correct adverb (FR/EN)

1. Il parle (quickly).
2. Elle chante (well).
3. Je me lève (early).
4. Il travaille (badly).
5. Nous sommes d’accord. (completely)
6. Elle mange (little).
7. Il court (quickly).
8. Il parle (too much).
9. Elle apprend (easily).
10. Il a dormi. (badly)

Translate to French

1. He arrives late.
2. She learns easily.
3. I travel from time to time.
4. Fortunately, he is here.
5. He speaks too fast.
6. In general, it’s nice here.
7. She sings well.
8. He answers quickly.
9. I get up early.
10. He speaks gently.

Fill in the blank with the correct adverb

1. Ils (pouvoir) réussir avec plus d’efforts.
2. Elle (bien) compris la leçon.
3. Nous (rapidement) terminé le travail.
4. Tu (facilement) trouvé la solution.
5. Il (doucement) fermé la porte.
6. Elle (trop) mangé ce soir.
7. Nous (mal) compris la question.
8. Vous (tôt) terminé vos devoirs.
9. Il (peu) parlé pendant la réunion.
10. Elles (heureusement) évité l’accident.