Regular and irregular adverbs
Regular adverbs
An adverb describes a verbA word used to describe an action or state of being. or adjectiveUsed to describe nouns and must agree with the nouns they are describing., giving information about where, when or how something is done.
To make an adverb, take the feminineAll nouns in French are either masculine or feminine. singularRefers to only one object or person. form of an adjective and add -ment. For example:
- heureuse (feminine singular of heureux 鈥 happy) becomes heureusement (happily, also used to say luckily)
- claire (feminine singular of clair 鈥 clear) becomes clairement (clearly)
If an adjective ends in a vowel, use the masculineAll nouns in French are either masculine or feminine. form and add -ment. For example:
- poli (polite) becomes poliment (politely)
- vrai (real) becomes vraiment (really)
If an adjective ends in -ant or -ent, remove the ending and add -amment or -emment. For example:
- poli (polite) becomes poliment (politely)
- vrai (real) becomes vraiment (really)
If an adjective ends in -ant or -ent, remove the ending and add -amment or -emment. For example:
- 谤茅肠别苍迟 (recent) become 谤茅肠别尘尘别苍迟 (recently)
- constant (constant) becomes constamment (constantly)
Irregular adverbs
The adjectives bon (good), mauvais (bad) and meilleur (better) are irregularSomething that does not follow regular patterns and may have a different form. when they become adverbs. Instead of adding -ment, they become new words.
| Adjective | Adverb | Example |
| bon (good) | bien (well) | Il joue bien du piano. (He plays the piano well.) |
| mauvais (bad) | mal (badly) | Hier, il a mal jou茅 parce qu鈥檌l 茅tait malade. (Yesterday, he played badly because he was ill.) |
| meilleur (better) | mieux (better) | J鈥檈sp猫re qu鈥檌l va mieux jouer demain. (I hope he will play better tomorrow.) |
| Adjective | bon (good) |
|---|---|
| Adverb | bien (well) |
| Example | Il joue bien du piano. (He plays the piano well.) |
| Adjective | mauvais (bad) |
|---|---|
| Adverb | mal (badly) |
| Example | Hier, il a mal jou茅 parce qu鈥檌l 茅tait malade. (Yesterday, he played badly because he was ill.) |
| Adjective | meilleur (better) |
|---|---|
| Adverb | mieux (better) |
| Example | J鈥檈sp猫re qu鈥檌l va mieux jouer demain. (I hope he will play better tomorrow.) |
Work out the adverbs for the following adjectives.
Question
Facile
Facilement - easily.
When an adjective ends in a vowel, add -ment.
Question
脡惫颈诲别苍迟
脡惫颈诲别尘尘别苍迟 - evidently, obviously.
When an adjective ends in -ent, take off the ending and add -emment.
Question
Joli
Joliment - prettily.
When an adjective ends in a vowel, add -ment.
Question
Malheureux
Malheureusement - unfortunately.
With regular adjectives, take the feminine form (malheureuse) and add -ment.