# Adverbs

https://langs123.com/en/french/adjectif-adverbe/adverbes/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> Adverbs add to a verb, an adjective or another adverb and never change form; most come right after the verb. The adverb goes right after the verb, before its object: Je parle **bien** français. J’aime **beaucoup** le café.

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Invariable | an adverb never agrees | Elles parlent **bien**. | They speak well. |
| Très | before an adjective or an adverb | Elle est **très** grande. | She is very tall. |
| Beaucoup | after the verb | Il mange **beaucoup**. | He eats a lot. |
| Manner | **bien** ≠ **mal** | Léa chante **bien**. / Paul dort **mal**. | Léa sings well. / Paul sleeps badly. |
| Degree | **un peu** / **assez** / **trop** + adjective | C’est **trop** cher. | It's too expensive. |
| Position | right after the verb, before the object | Je parle **bien** français. | I speak French well. |
| Frequency | **toujours** / **souvent** / **parfois** | Nous mangeons **souvent** ici. | We often eat here. |
| Time | **déjà** / **encore** | Tu as **déjà** fini ? | Have you finished already? |
| -ment adverbs | adjective + **-e** + **-ment** | **Heureusement**, il est là. | Fortunately, he is here. |
| Passé composé | a short adverb between the helper and the participle | J’ai **beaucoup** travaillé. | I worked a lot. |
| Trap | **très** never goes with a verb: use **beaucoup** | J’aime **beaucoup** le café. | I like coffee a lot. |

## Overview

- An adverb adds to a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Elle chante **bien**. / Il est **très** grand. / Elle parle **très** bien. (She sings well. / He is very tall. / She speaks very well.)
- An adverb never changes form. Il parle **bien**. / Elles parlent **bien**. (He speaks well. / They speak well.)
- Adjectives do agree: see Adjectives.
- For **plus vite** and **mieux**, see Comparatives and Superlatives.
- For **jamais**, **plus** and **pas encore**, see Negation.

## Use: common adverbs

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **très** before an adjective or an adverb | Il est **très** grand. / Elle parle **très** bien. | He is very tall. / She speaks very well. |
| **beaucoup** after a verb | Il travaille **beaucoup**. / J’aime **beaucoup** ce film. | He works a lot. / I like this film a lot. |
| **bien** and **mal** say how an action is done | Elle chante **bien**. / Il dort **mal**. | She sings well. / He sleeps badly. |
| **un peu** after a verb or before an adjective | Je parle **un peu** anglais. / C’est **un peu** cher. | I speak a little English. / It's a bit expensive. |
| **trop**: more than is right, after a verb or before an adjective | Il mange **trop**. / C’est **trop** loin. | He eats too much. / It's too far. |
| **assez**: enough or fairly, after a verb or before an adjective | Tu dors **assez** ? / Cette chambre est **assez** grande. | Do you sleep enough? / This room is quite big. |

- Before a noun, the forms are **beaucoup de**, **trop de**, **assez de**: see Partitives and Quantities.

## Frequency and time words

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **toujours**: always | Il est **toujours** en retard. | He is always late. |
| **souvent**: often | Nous mangeons **souvent** ici. | We often eat here. |
| **parfois**: sometimes | **Parfois**, je prends le bus. | Sometimes I take the bus. |
| **déjà**: already | Tu as **déjà** fini ? | Have you finished already? |
| **encore**: still | Il dort **encore**. | He is still asleep. |
| **encore**: more, again | Tu veux **encore** du thé ? | Would you like some more tea? |
| **toujours**: still | Elle habite **toujours** à Lyon. | She still lives in Lyon. |

## Position of the adverb

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| right after the verb, before the object | Je parle **bien** français. / J’aime **beaucoup** le café. | I speak French well. / I like coffee a lot. |
| before the adjective or adverb it modifies | Elle est **très** gentille. / Il court **trop** vite. | She is very kind. / He runs too fast. |
| **souvent** and **parfois** can also open the sentence | **Parfois**, il dort ici. / Il dort ici **parfois**. | Sometimes he sleeps here. / He sleeps here sometimes. |
| in the passé composé, a short adverb goes between the helper and the participle: **déjà** / **bien** / **mal** / **beaucoup** / **trop** / **toujours** / **souvent** | J’ai **déjà** mangé. / Il a **beaucoup** travaillé. | I have already eaten. / He worked a lot. |

- For how the passé composé is formed, see Passé Composé: j’ai mangé.

## Form: adverbs in -ment

| Masculine | Feminine | Adverb |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **bon** | **bonne** | **bien** |
| **mauvais** | **mauvaise** | **mal** |
| **heureux** / **doux** / **lent** | **heureuse** / **douce** / **lente** | **heureusement** / **doucement** / **lentement** |
| **rapide** / **facile** | **rapide** / **facile** | **rapidement** / **facilement** |
| **poli** / **vrai** | **polie** / **vraie** | **poliment** / **vraiment** |
| **récent** / **prudent** | **récente** / **prudente** | **récemment** / **prudemment** |

- A **-ment** adverb is built on the feminine of the adjective: **lent** → **lente** → **lentement**. Il parle **lentement**. / Elle répond **poliment**. (He speaks slowly. / She answers politely.)
- **-ent** becomes **-emment**, which is pronounced like **-amment**. Elle conduit **prudemment** /pʁydamɑ̃/. · Il est arrivé **récemment** /ʁesamɑ̃/. (She drives carefully. / He arrived recently.)
- After certain verbs, an adjective serves as an adverb and stays invariable: **coûter cher**, **parler fort**. Ce sac coûte **cher**. / Ils parlent **fort**. (This bag is expensive. / They talk loudly.)

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| J’aime très le café. | J’aime **beaucoup** le café. | **très** does not go before a verb: the word is **beaucoup** |
| Merci très beaucoup. | **Merci beaucoup**. | **beaucoup** already means “very much”: **merci beaucoup**, with no **très** |
| Je parle français bien. | Je parle **bien** français. | the adverb goes right after the verb: **je parle bien français**, not “I speak French well” |
| J’aime le café beaucoup. | J’aime **beaucoup** le café. | the adverb comes before the object: **j’aime beaucoup le café**, not “I like coffee a lot” |
| J’ai mangé déjà. | J’ai **déjà** mangé. | a short adverb goes between the helper and the participle: **j’ai déjà mangé**, not “I've eaten already” |
| Il est arrivé récentement. | Il est arrivé **récemment**. | **-ent** becomes **-emment** in the adverb: **récemment** |