Essential French Grammar (2012)
Adverbs
How to Form Adverbs in French
In English, we often form adverbs by adding -ly to an adjective, as, for instance, in the case of clear, clearly; polite, politely. Adverbs are commonly formed in French in much the same way, except that the ending added to the adjective is -ment. This is added to the masculine singular form of the adjective, provided that that form ends in a vowel. If it does not end in a vowel, the -ment is added to the feminine singular adjective.
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MASC. SING. ADJ. |
ENG. MEANING |
FEM. SING. ADJ.3 |
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|
poli |
(polite) |
— |
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|
facile |
(easy) |
— |
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|
parfait |
(perfect) |
parfaite |
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|
naturel |
(natural) |
naturelle |
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|
malheureux |
(unhappy) |
malheureuse |
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|
ADVERB |
ENG. MEANING |
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|
poliment |
(politely) |
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|
facilement |
(easily) |
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|
parfaitement |
(perfectly) |
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|
naturellement |
(naturally) |
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|
malheureusement |
(unhappily) |
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Adverbs in French are invariable, that is, they do not change endings to agree in gender and number with the subject of the sentence. Adverbs in French generally follow the verb they modify.
Je suis vraiment enchanté d’être en France.
I am really delighted to be in France.
Je comprends parfaitement quand vous parlez lentement.
I understand perfectly when you speak slowly.