Language/French/Grammar/Degree-adverbs
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Degree adverbs
What are Degree Adverbs?[edit | edit source]
Adverbs which indicate the extent to which something is the case are degree adverbs. As a class they can modify every kind of sentence element: verbs, adjectives, nouns, prepositions and other adverbs. But individually some of them may be restricted to modifying particular categories of item (e.g. très can modify adjectives, prepositions and adverbs - très heureux 'very happy', très à la mode 'very fashionable', très bien 'very well' - but not verbs *Je fume très 'I smoke very'):
Examples[edit | edit source]
- Je fume modérément
I smoke moderately
- Tout est si clair maintenant
Everything is so clear
- Ce ne sera pas tout à fait la vérité
That won't be entirely the truth
- Je tends ma main jusqu'à presque toucher son visage
I stretch out my hand almost to touch his face
- Elle a dressé trop brusquement la tête
She lifted her head up too quickly
TABLE Typical degree adverbs[edit | edit source]
Representative examples[edit | edit source]
French | English |
---|---|
C'est un acteur assez connu | He is quite a well-known actor |
La route tue autant que la guerre | Road accidents are the cause of as many deaths as war |
Elle est autrement intelligente que sa soeur | She is much more intelligent than her sister |
Ils ont beaucoup discuté pendant le weekend | They spent a lot of time discussing over the weekend |
C'est bien bête | That's really stupid |
Il y en a davantage qu'on ne le pense | There are more than you think |
Elle a acheté un billet juste avant de prendre le train | She bought a ticket just before catching the train |
On ramène même des souvenirs | They even bring back souvenirs |
Voici le vélo même dont il s'est servi | This is the very bike he used |
un monde si étrangement silencieux | such a strangely silent world |
Elle est tellement plus sympathique | She is so much nicer |
J'ai répondu tout de travers | 1 replied in a quite confused way |
Je suis ici depuis très longtemps | I have been here for a very long time |
Elle parle trop | She talks too much |
A number of degree adverbs also function as quantifiers modifying nouns :
French | English |
---|---|
assez d'excuses | enough excuses |
autant d'argent | as much money |
beaucoup de clients | many customers |
bien des problèmes | many problems |
tellement de travail | so much work |
Videos[edit | edit source]
French Lesson 100 - Adverbs of Quantity Intensity Degree - YouTube[edit | edit source]
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Should I say "Madame le juge" or "Madame la juge"?
- Present Tense
- Adverbs
- Gender of Nouns Names of ships and restaurants
- How to use Have
- Definite and indefinite articles
- Plurals
- Adjectives which regularly occur before and after the noun, but with a change of meaning
- Agreement of past participles with preceding direct objects in questions
- “être” and “avoir” with verbs used intransitively and transitively
- Pronouns referring to groups of mixed gender
- Dates
- Nouns which have the same spoken form but two different written forms
- Homophones
- Adjectifs possessifs