In French, like in any other language, the goal of adverbs is always the same: To modify la signification (the meaning) of words, phrases, and sentences.
Let’s take this example:
Le scénario de ce film est magnifiquement écrit.
(The plot of this movie is magnificently written.)
Here the adverb magnifiquement is a word, and it serves to modify the adjective écrit.
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In today’s post, we’ll go through some French adverbs which come as phrases, so that you can recognize them whenever you encounter them in a given sentence:
* French phrases as time-related adverbs:
- Au fur et à mesure: As one goes along
- À temps: In time
- De bonne heure: Early
- D’habitude: Usually
- D’ores et déjà: Already
- De suite: At once
- De temps en temps: From time to time
- N’importe quand: Anytime
- Sans cesse: Ceaselessly
- Sur-le-champ: Immediately
- Tout à l’heure: Later
- Tout de suite: At once, immediately
* French phrases as space-related adverbs:
- À côté: Beside
- Ça et là: Here and there
- Côte à côte: Side by side
- En bas: Down, downstairs
- En haut: Up, upstairs
- En arrière: Towards the back
- En avant: Towards the front
- En amont: Upstream
- En aval: Downstream
- En avance: In advance
- En dehors: Outside
- N’importe où: Anywhere
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Bon courage mes amis, et à très bientôt !