I can say HOW something happens — lentement, poliment, couramment — and put the adverb in the right place, including in the past tense.
How exactly: adverbs in -ment
How exactly: adverbs in -ment
An adverb answers the question “how?” and never changes for gender or number.
The rule: take the feminine form of the adjective and add -ment (like English -ly): lente gives lentement, sérieuse gives sérieusement.
If the masculine form already ends in a vowel, -ment goes straight onto it: poli gives poliment, vrai gives vraiment, facile gives facilement.
Adjectives in -ent and -ant give -emment and -amment: récent (recent) gives récemment, courant (fluent) gives couramment. Both endings sound the same: [amɑ̃].
Three adverbs have no -ment: bien, mal, vite.
Where it goes: in a simple tense, right after the verb. In the passé composé a short adverb (bien, mal, vite) goes between avoir or être and the past participle, though English puts “well” at the end; a long adverb in -ment goes after the past participle. See the second table.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Il parle lent” — you need an adverb: Il parle lentement.
• NOT “Elle a répondu bien” — a short adverb goes before the past participle: Elle a bien répondu.
• NOT “récentment” — adjectives in -ent take -emment: récemment.
How an adjective becomes an adverb
An adverb doesn't change for gender or number.
| Adjective | Stem for the adverb | Adverb |
|---|---|---|
| lent (slow) | lente | lentement |
| sérieux (serious) | sérieuse | sérieusement |
| poli (polite) | polialready ends in a vowel | poliment |
| récent (recent) | -emmentnot from the feminine | récemment |
| courant (fluent) | -ammentnot from the feminine | couramment |
Where the adverb goes
In the passé composé, short and long adverbs behave differently.
| Tense | Position | Example |
|---|---|---|
| simple tense | after the verb | Le client parle lentement. |
| passé composé, short adverb (bien, mal, vite) | between avoir / être and the past participle | Julie a vite terminé le dossier. |
| passé composé, adverb in -ment | after the past participle | L'employeur a répondu poliment. |
Lesson notes
How exactly: adverbs in -ment
An adverb answers the question “how?” and never changes for gender or number.
The rule: take the feminine form of the adjective and add -ment (like English -ly): lente gives lentement, sérieuse gives sérieusement.
If the masculine form already ends in a vowel, -ment goes straight onto it: poli gives poliment, vrai gives vraiment, facile gives facilement.
Adjectives in -ent and -ant give -emment and -amment: récent (recent) gives récemment, courant (fluent) gives couramment. Both endings sound the same: [amɑ̃].
Three adverbs have no -ment: bien, mal, vite.
Where it goes: in a simple tense, right after the verb. In the passé composé a short adverb (bien, mal, vite) goes between avoir or être and the past participle, though English puts “well” at the end; a long adverb in -ment goes after the past participle. See the second table.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Il parle lent” — you need an adverb: Il parle lentement.
• NOT “Elle a répondu bien” — a short adverb goes before the past participle: Elle a bien répondu.
• NOT “récentment” — adjectives in -ent take -emment: récemment.