Adverbs: how, when, where and how often

Adverbs say how, when, where or how often you do something. They make speaking and writing more precise and earn credit for range.

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Making adverbs with -ment

Add -ment to the feminine adjective: lent, lente, lentement (slowly); heureux, heureuse, heureusement (fortunately); sérieux, sérieusement; complet, complète, complètement.
If the masculine already ends in a vowel, add -ment to it: vrai: vraiment, facile: facilement, rapide: rapidement.
Adjectives in -ant / -ent become -amment / -emment: constant: constamment, récent: récemment. Both sound like 'amment'. Exception: lent: lentement.

Common adverbs and where they go

Put the adverb straight after the verb: Je joue souvent au tennis. Il parle trop.
In the perfect tense, short adverbs go between avoir / être and the participle: J'ai bien mangé. J'ai déjà fini. Time words like hier go at the end or start: Je suis arrivé hier.
KindAdverbs
timeaujourd'hui, demain, hier, maintenant, bientôt, déjà, tôt, tard, ensuite
frequencytoujours, souvent, quelquefois, ne...jamais
placeici, là, là-bas, dehors, loin, près
degreetrès, assez, trop, peu, beaucoup, vraiment

Comparing actions

plus ... que (more ... than), moins ... que (less ... than), aussi ... que (as ... as):
Mon frère court plus vite que moi. Je sors moins souvent que ma sœur.
Bien becomes mieux (better): Elle chante mieux que moi. Never say plus bien.
Worked example

Translate: Fortunately my brother drives more slowly than my dad.

  1. fortunately = heureusement (heureuse + ment)
  2. drives = conduit (conduire)
  3. more slowly than = plus lentement que

Answer: Heureusement, mon frère conduit plus lentement que mon père.

Key idea

Feminine adjective + -ment (lentement); vowel ending + -ment (vraiment); -ant / -ent: -amment / -emment. Adverb after the verb; short ones before the participle (j'ai bien mangé). Plus / moins / aussi ... que; bien: mieux.

Key words
aussi
also, as
heureux
happy
sérieux
serious
facile
easy
souvent
often
hier
yesterday

All GCSE and International GCSE French key terms and definitions →

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  1. Which is the adverb from "heureux"?

    1. heureuxment
    2. heureument
    3. heureusement
    4. heureuxement
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    Answer: heureusement

    Heureuse + -ment.

  2. Which is the adverb from "évident"?

    1. évidentement
    2. évidentment
    3. évidamment
    4. évidemment
    Show the answer

    Answer: évidemment

    -ent: -emment.

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Practise this lesson free (6 questions)All GCSE and International GCSE French lessons

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Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.

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