What’s adjective for nouns, that is the adverb for verbs.
Yes, verbs can also be described in its level of intensity, frequency or manner. And that is adverb’s job.
Not only verbs, adverbs can also modify adjectives or even other adverbs.
Today, you’ll learn some of the most useful French adverbs of time you can use in everyday conversation.
What are adverbs?
Generally, an adverb is the part of speech that modifies (describes) a verb (he sings loudly), an adjective (very tall), a second adverb (ended too quickly), or a complete sentence (Fortunately, there were no injuries).
Adverbs are used to nuance and give additional information about a verb, adjective, nouns, other adverbs, or the entire sentence.
An adverb is often used to add intensity to an adjective.
Like in this example. “Elle est trop belle.”, where trop adds intensity to the adjective belle.
The great news for French students is that adverbs are invariable. This means they have a unique form, and you won’t need to remember to match the adverb with the subject, or even think about whether the noun is feminine, masculine, singular, or plural.
There are different types of adverbs such as adverbs of place, time, quantity, frequency, manner.
Let’s see some examples.
In this sentence, the adverb of frequency gives additional information about how much Emily talks.
Emily parle beaucoup.
Emily talks a lot.
In this sentence, the adverb of quantity reinforces how much Valerian is beautiful.
Valerian est très beau.
Valerian is very beautiful.
Here, the adverb serves to point not only there is salt, but there is too much salt.
Je suis allée hier.
l was there yesterday.
Here, the adverb explains how often Ann comes home.
Anne vient très souvent à la maison.
Ann comes very often home.
To learn more about French Adverbs in general, check out this extensive list of 120 Common French Adverbs.
Most Common Adverbs of Time
Here, we’ll show you the list of the most commonly used adverbs of time.
Aujourd’hui
today
Aujourd’hui, la ville est plus sûre qu’avant.
Nowadays, the city is safer than it used to be.
Jusqu’à aujourd’hui, les enfants n’ont jamais vu le mer.
Until today, the children have never seen the sea.
Demain
tomorrow
Je vais aux vacances demain.
l go on holiday tomorrow.
Hier
J’ai rencontré mon professeur hier.
l run into my professeur yesterday.
Avant-hier
On a regardé le film avant-hier.
We watched a movie the day before.
Avant
Mon anniversaire est avant le Nouvel An.
My birthday is before New Year’s Eve.
Bientôt
Des autres invités suivront très bientot.
Other guests will follow very soon.
Maintenant
Je suis en retard donc je dois partir maintenant.
I am late so I have to go now.
Alors
Alors has multiple meanings.
- It can mean “then” or “in that case”.
Si tu sais parler anglais, alors tu peux commander le diner.
If you can speak English, then you can order diner.
- “so”, “well”
Alors, raconte ce qui s’est passé!
So, tell me what happened!/ Well? Tell me what happened!
- “so then”
Alors, ton nouveau quartier, c’est comment ?
So then, what’s your new neighborhood like?
Expressions with Alors
“Goodness!” is the equivalent of this expression when expressing shock.’ It expresses shock and can be translated in English as ‘goodness!’ or ‘my goodness!’
It can indicate a variety of reactions, from pleasure to indignation and incredulity. Although it does not really mean anything in and of itself, it does draw attention to what is coming next, or it reacts to what just was said.
Where to Place Adverb of Time
- An adverb of time that refers to a specific day can be used at the beginning or end of the sentence.
Aujourd’hui, je vais acheter une robe.
Today, I’m going to buy a dress.
Ils arriveront demain.
They’ll arrive tomorrow.
- Usually, place adverbs come after direct objects.
J’ai trouvé le chapeau ici.
l found the hat here.
- In negative constructions, adverbs that typically accompany the verb are placed after pas.
Je chante bien. → Je ne chante pas bien.
Saying Today, Tomorrow, and Yesterday
Talking about time is essential. Imagine scheduling a meeting without the use of French time adverbs.
We need adverbs of time to express the current moment, the moment that passed, and the one that’s coming.
And there are more than just aujourd’hui, hier and demain to this.