In this grammar lesson you will learn how to position French adverbs.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- how to position French adverbs in simple tenses
- how to position French adverbs in compound tenses
- how adverbs are used in French sentences
- how you can quiz yourself on how to position French adverbs
- how to practice with flashcards on how to position French adverbs
- how and why you should use the courses of Language Atlas to learn French
Please refer to the French A2 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar, if you are curious about how this fits in the overall structure of French A2.
By the end of the lesson you will know all about how to say others in French!
Table of Contents
How to Position French Adverbs in Simple Tenses
In simple tenses, French adverbs are placed after the verb.
Je mange vite.
I eat quickly.
Tu parles fort.
You talk loudly.
Il danse bien.
He dances well.
Elles pleurent facilement.
They cry easily.
How to Position French Adverbs in Compound Tenses
In this chapter you will learn how to position French adverbs in compound tenses.
We will look at the following three cases:
- common (short) adverbs
- certain adverbs of time
- adverbs of place and certain adverbs of time
Let’s get started!
Common Short Adverbs
| assez | quite/enough |
| bien | well |
| beaucoup | a lot |
| bientôt | soon |
| déja | already |
| encore | still |
| enfin | finally |
| jamais | never |
| mal | badly |
| mieux | better |
| moins | less |
| souvent | often |
| toujours | always |
| trop | too much |
| vite | quickly |
Common (short) adverbs are placed in the following manner:
- auxiliary verb + adverb + past participle
Je l’ai toujours aimée.
I always liked her.
I always loved her.
Tu as bien chanté.
You sang wel.
Il m’a enfin appelé.
He finally called me.
As you can see, the adverb is between the auxiliary verb and the past participle.
Certain Adverbs of Time and Manner
| après | after |
| aujourd’hui | today |
| autrefois | formerly |
| hier | yesterday |
| ….ment |
Certain adverbs of time and manner, and some adverbs that end in -ment are placed:
- either at the start of a sentence
- or at the end of of a sentence
Hier, je suis allé à Lyon.
Yesterday I went to Lyon.
Je suis allé à Lyon hier.
I went to Lyon yesterday.
Il a bu rapidement.
He drank quickly.
Rapidement, il a bu.
Quickly, he drank .
As you can see, the adverbs are placed either at the beginning, or at the end of the sentence.
Adverbs of Place and Certain Adverbs of Time
| ici | here |
| dehors | outside |
| là | there |
| quelque part | somewhere |
| partout | everywhere |
| tard | late |
| tôt | early |
| …ment |
Adverbs of place, certain adverbs of time, and some adverbs that end in -ment are placed in the following way:
- auxiliary verb + past participle + adverb
Nous sommes partis tôt.
We left early.
Sommes-nous partis tard ?
Did we leave late?
The adverb is positioned at the end of the sentence.
Sentences Overview of How to Position French Adverbs
The final section of this lesson on how position French adverbs is about seeing the terms in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding on how to position French adverbs through examples.
Here you can find all of the sentences used in the previous chapters, neatly organised in one place.
Je mange vite.
I eat quickly.
Tu parles fort.
You talk loudly.
Il danse bien.
He dances well.
Elles pleurent facilement.
They cry easily.
Je l’ai toujours aimée.
I always liked her.
Tu as bien chanté.
You sang wel.
Il m’a enfin appelé.
He finally called me.
Hier, je suis allé à Lyon.
Yesterday I went to Lyon.
Je suis allé à Lyon hier.
I went to Lyon yesterday.
Il a bu rapidement.
He drank quickly.
Rapidement, il a bu.
Quickly, he drank .
Nous sommes partis tôt.
We left early.
Sommes-nous partis tard ?
Did we leave late?
Quiz Yourself on How to Position French Adverbs
At the end of every lesson you can do a small quiz.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want!
How to Practice With Flashcards for This Lesson
Using flashcards is an absolute necessity when it comes to learning a language!
It is the best way to memorize what you learn, you can personalize your progression because it adapts to your actions, and all flashcards have audio to improve your hearing and pronunciation.
Please read our article on how to learn a new language for more information on flashcards and the best way to learn a new language.
There are two ways to practice with Flashcards for this lesson.
- Anki
- The Flashcards in our Courses
Anki is a free software with which you can create and practice flashcards.
After you have downloaded Anki, you can get our French A2 Anki Deck.
This Anki Deck contains 3,816 flashcards with which you can practice absolutely everything for French A2.
All the flashcards have text, images, explanations, and audio.
You can also use our courses that have flashcards integrated alongside lessons with audio, quizzes and much more!
However, I am sure you are wondering, what are your courses, and why should I take them?
The Courses of Language Atlas
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