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Adverbs in French, like in English, are used to modify adjectives, other adverbs, and verbs or clauses. They do not display any inflection; that is, their form does not change to reflect their precise role, nor any characteristics of what they modify.
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In French, as in English, most adverbs are derived from adjectives. In most cases, this is done by adding the suffix -ment ("-ly") to the adjective's feminine singular form. For example, the feminine singular form of lent ("slow") is lente, so the corresponding adverb is lentement ("slowly"); similarly, heureux → heureusement ("happy" → "happily").
As in English, however, the adjective stem is sometimes modified to accommodate the suffix:
Some adverbs are derived from adjectives in completely irregular fashions, not even using the suffix -ment:
And, as in English, many common adverbs are not derived from adjectives at all:
The placement of French adverbs is almost the same as the placement of English adverbs.
An adverb that modifies an adjective or adverb comes before that adjective or adverb:
An adverb that modifies an infinitive (verbal noun) generally comes after the infinitive:
But negative adverbs, such as pas ("not"), plus ("not any more"), and jamais ("never"), come before the infinitive:
An adverb that modifies a main verb or clause comes either after the verb, or before the clause:
Note that, unlike in English, this is true even of negative adverbs:
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