Humanities › Languages Learn French Adverbs Describing the Manner of an Event Share Flipboard Email Print MAISANT Ludovic / Getty Images Languages French Grammar Basics Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary Resources for Teachers English as a Second Language Spanish German Italian Japanese Mandarin Russian English Grammar View More by ThoughtCo Updated August 27, 2018 Adverbs of manner explain how something happens.Overview and ConugationsThe majority of French adverbs of manner end in -ment, which is usually equivalent to the English ending -ly. These adverbs are formed from French adjectives, as follows:If the French adjective ends in a vowel, add -ment to form the adverb:Adjective French adverb English translation absoluadmirablenécessairepassionnépolirudevraiabsolumentadmirablementnécessairementpassionnémentpolimentrudementvraimentabsolutelyadmirablynecessarilypassionatelypolitelyroughlytruly If the French adjective ends in a consonant, add -ment to the feminine form:Masculine adjFeminine adjectiveFrench adverbEnglish translation amicaléventuelfrancnormalpremierrapidsérieuxvifamicaleéventuellefranchenormalepremièrerapidesérieuseviveamicalementéventuellementfranchementnormalementpremièrementrapidementsérieusementvivementin a friendly waypossiblyfranklynormallyfirstlyrapidlyseriouslysharply, deeply Exceptions: brefgentilbrèvegentillebrièvementgentimentbrieflykindly Rules I and II ensure that French adverbs have a vowel immediately preceding the -ment ending. The following adverbs follow one of the above rules, but require an acute accent on this vowel:aveuglecommunconformeénormeintenseobscurprécisprofonduniformeaveuglémentcommunémentconformémenténormémentintensémentobscurémentprécisémentprofondémentuniformémentblindlycommonlyin accordanceenormouslyintenselyobscurelypreciselyprofoundlyuniformly If the French adjective ends in -ant or -ent, remove the ending and add -ammentor -emment:AdjectiveFrench adverbEnglish translation apparentbruyantconstantintelligentpatientsuffisantapparemmentbruyammentconstammentintelligemmentpatiemmentsuffisammentapparentlyloudlyconstantlyintelligentlypatientlysufficiently Exception: lentlentementslowly Irregular Adverbs:bref brièvement brieflygentil gentiment kindly ExeptionsThere are a few French adverbs of manner that don't end in -ment:ainsithusbienwelldeboutstanding upexprèson purposemalpoorly, badlymieuxbetterpireworsevite quicklyvolontiers gladly Continue Reading