Language/French/Grammar/Location-of-adverbs-modifying-verb-phrases
Adverbs which modify the verb phrase (manner, degree, some time and place adverbs) and adverbs which modify the sentence may have several possible locations.
Manner, degree and time adverbs which consist of just one word usually immediately follow the tense-marked verb:
- Elle a soigneusement étendu son tailleur sur le lit
She carefully laid out her suit on the bed
- On ramène parfois des souvenirs
We sometimes bring back souvenirs
- J'ai souvent voulu le faire
1 have often wanted to do it
- Ils ont beaucoup discuté pendant le weekend
They discussed a lot during the weekend
- Il a mal lu l'étiquette
He misread the label
- Elles ont toujours refusé de me parler
They have always refused to talk to me
NB: With verbs in simple tenses it is normal in French for these adverbs to occur between the verb and its complement, but not between the subject and the verb: the reverse is the case in English:
- On ramène parfois des souvenirs NOT *On parfois ramène des souvenirs
- Je veux souvent le faire NOT *Je souvent veux le faire
- Elles refusent toujours de me parler NOT *Elles toujours refusent de me parler
Usually manner, degree and time adverbs consisting of just one word and modifying the verb phrase can also appear at the end of the clause:
- Elle a étendu son tailleur soigneusement
- On ramène des souvenirs parfois
But some appear most naturally in a clause-internal position after the verb. This tends to be the case for short monosyllabic adverbs: bien, mal, vite, trop, tant. An exception, though, is time adverbs which designate specific moments in the past or future: hier 'yesterday', demain 'tomorrow', la veille 'the day before', and so on. These usually appear at the beginning or the end of a clause, not in the middle:
- J'ai ramassé les clefs hier OR Hier j'ai ramassé les clefs
I picked up the keys yesterday
- La veille elle avait vendu sa maison OR Elle avait vendu sa maison la veille
She had sold her house the day before
Adverbs of manner, degree and time which consist of more than a single word, together with place adverbs as a class, usually come at the beginning or end of a clause, not in the middle:
- II a emporté le dossier à dessin
He took the file away on purpose
- Ici tout le monde fait la vaisselle
Everybody does the washing-up here
- Nous voulons habiter ailleurs
We want to live elsewhere
- Derrière il y a un champ de betteraves
Behind there is a beet field
- Vous trouverez l'étiquette dessous
You'll find the label on the bottom
- On a laissé des papiers un peu partout
Papers were left almost everywhere
It is always possible, however, for such adverbs to occur clause-internally with heavy pausing on either side (indicated by commas in written French). This has the effect of stressing the adverb:
- J'ai ramassé, hier, les clefs
- Quelqu'un, dehors, s'est inquiété
- Il y a, derrière, un champ de betteraves
After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Possessive determiners, Omission of the article, Difference between Nombre, Chiffre and Numéro & il or ça alternating with noun phrase subjects.
Other Chapters[edit | edit source]
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Demonstrative pronouns
- Years
- Infinitives
- Confusions English and French direct object
- Forms of créer, nier, scier, rire, etc
- Use of l'on
- Coordination of subject pronouns
- Adverbs ending in —ment derived from the masculine form of an adjective
- Use of the definite article with parts of the body
- Differences in the use of numbers in French and English mille milliers milliards
- Reflexive pronouns
- Pronouns
- Imperative mood
- Location of adverbs modifying sentences
- Masculine Nouns Ending in ée