Formation of Adverbs in French

Adverbs in French are used to modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Many French adverbs are formed by adding specific endings to adjectives, but there are also irregular forms. Here’s how they are created:

1. Formation of Regular Adverbs

For most adjectives, add -ment to the feminine form of the adjective.

Example:

• Adjective: doux (soft) → Feminine form: douce → Adverb: doucement (softly).
• Adjective: heureux (happy) → Feminine form: heureuse → Adverb: heureusement (happily).

2. Adjectives Ending in a Vowel

If the adjective already ends in a vowel, simply add -ment to the masculine form.

Example:

• Adjective: vrai (true) → Adverb: vraiment (truly).
• Adjective: poli (polite) → Adverb: poliment (politely).

3. Adjectives Ending in -ant or -ent

For adjectives ending in -ant or -ent, replace the ending with:

• -amment for adjectives ending in -ant.
• -emment for adjectives ending in -ent.

Example:

• Adjective: constant (constant) → Adverb: constamment (constantly).
• Adjective: prudent (careful) → Adverb: prudemment (carefully).

Note: These endings are pronounced the same as -ment.

4. Irregular Adverbs

Some adverbs don’t follow the regular formation rules and must be memorized:

• bon (good) → bien (well)
• mauvais (bad) → mal (badly)
• meilleur (better) → mieux (better)
• gentil (kind) → gentiment (kindly)

5. Placement of Adverbs in a Sentence

• With a verb: The adverb typically comes after the verb.
  • Elle parle doucement. (She speaks softly.)
• With an adjective or another adverb: The adverb comes before the word it modifies.
  • C’est très important. (This is very important.)

You can take the multiple-choice quiz.

To form French adverbs from adjectives, you often add the ending “-ment” to the feminine form of the adjective. For example, “heureux” (happy) becomes the adverb “heureusement” (happily). If the adjective ends in “-ant” or “-ent,” the ending changes to “-amment” or “-emment,” such as “constant” (constant) to “constamment” (constantly) and “évident” (obvious) to “évidemment” (obviously). However, there are some irregular forms that must be memorized.