Les adverbes – Common French adverbs list
Contents
Key takeaways
- Adverbs (les adverbes) describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
- They answer “how?”, “when?”, “where?”, or “to what extent?”.
- Many French adverbs are formed by adding -ment to the feminine adjective.
- Adverbs are invariable — they don’t change gender or number.
- Learning common French adverbs boosts fluency and natural expression.
What Is an Adverb in French?
An adverb (un adverbe) is a word that modifies or describes an action, adjective, or another adverb. Unlike adjectives, they never agree with gender or number.
Examples:
- Elle parle doucement. → She speaks softly.
- Il est très intelligent. → He is very intelligent.
How to Form Adverbs in French
Most adverbs come from the feminine form of an adjective + -ment.
- lent → lente → lentement (slowly)
- heureux → heureuse → heureusement (fortunately)
- vrai → vraie → vraiment (truly)
Irregular adverbs:
- bon → bien (well)
- mauvais → mal (badly)
- meilleur → mieux (better)
Types of French Adverbs
1. Adverbs of Manner (Comment?)
Describe how an action is done.
- rapidement → quickly
- doucement → softly
- bien → well
2. Adverbs of Time (Quand?)
Indicate when something happens.
- aujourd’hui → today
- demain → tomorrow
- toujours → always
3. Adverbs of Place (Où?)
Show where something happens.
- ici → here
- là-bas → over there
- partout → everywhere
4. Adverbs of Frequency (Combien de fois?)
Express how often.
- souvent → often
- rarement → rarely
- jamais → never
5. Adverbs of Quantity (Combien?)
Express intensity or degree.
- très → very
- peu → little
- assez → enough
Common French Adverbs List
Here are some of the most useful adverbs for daily conversations:
- toujours → always
- souvent → often
- parfois → sometimes
- rarement → rarely
- jamais → never
- déjà → already
- encore → again, still
- vite → fast
- bien → well
- mal → badly
- très → very
- trop → too (much)
- assez → enough
- ici → here
- là → there
1
Adverbs in French Sentences
- Je travaille toujours le matin. → I always work in the morning.
- Elle chante très bien. → She sings very well.
- Nous irons là-bas demain. → We will go there tomorrow.
- Tu parles trop vite. → You speak too fast.
Placement of French Adverbs
Simple tenses: after the verb
- Il mange vite. → He eats quickly.
Compound tenses: between auxiliary and past participle (for short/common adverbs)
- J’ai toujours aimé le français. → I have always loved French.
With adjectives/adverbs: before the word they modify
- Elle est très heureuse. → She is very happy.
Exercises: Practice with Adverbs
1. Fill in the blanks
- Elle parle ________ (softly).
- Nous travaillons ________ (often).
- Je suis ________ (very) fatigué.
2. Translate into French
- He runs quickly.
- They never eat meat.
- I will come tomorrow.
3. Correct the mistakes
- ❌ Je parle bien français très.
- ❌ Nous allons demain à l’école.
Answers
- doucement | souvent | très
- Il court rapidement | Ils ne mangent jamais de viande | Je viendrai demain
- Je parle très bien français | Nous allons à l’école demain
Tips for Mastering Adverbs in French
- Learn adverbs by category (manner, time, place, frequency, quantity).
- Remember irregular forms (bien, mal, mieux).
- Use adverbs daily to describe routines, actions, and opinions.
- Practice changing adjectives into adverbs with -ment.
For deeper learning, review our French verb tenses overview. For effective study habits, see learning French effectively. And to set goals, check how long it takes to learn French fluently.
Summary
French adverbs describe actions, qualities, and frequency. They are invariable, often formed with -ment, and fall into categories like manner, time, place, and quantity.
Useful resources like FrenchPod101’s Must-Know French Adverbs and Rosetta Stone’s Common French Adverbs offer extended lists. With practice, sentences like Je parle toujours français, Elle chante très bien will become second nature as you learn French with Promova.
Comments