How do you form adverbs of manner in French?

Take the feminine form of the adjective and add -ment: lente gives lentement, heureuse gives heureusement, franche gives franchement. If the masculine adjective ends in a vowel, add -ment to that instead: vrai gives vraiment.

Why is it évidemment and not évidamment?

Because the adjective is évident, ending in -ent. Adjectives in -ent give -emment and those in -ant give -amment, and the two endings are pronounced exactly the same. The only reliable guide is the spelling of the adjective you started from.

What's the adverb for bon?

Bien. Bon is an adjective and describes nouns — un bon repas — while bien is the adverb and describes verbs: il mange bien. The same pattern gives mal for mauvais, and the comparatives are mieux and plus mal.

Why do French speakers say parler fort instead of fortement?

Because a small set of verbs takes a bare adjective as an adverb: parler fort, coûter cher, travailler dur, sentir bon, voir clair. The adjective stays in the masculine singular and never agrees, which is what marks it as adverbial.

Is there an adverb for vite?

Vite is already the adverb — there is no vitement. The corresponding adjective is rapide, which gives rapidement, a slightly more formal synonym. In everyday speech, il court vite is what you'll hear.

French grammar · Intermediate

French Adverbs of Manner: How to Build and Place -ment Adverbs

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Adverbs of manner say how an action is performed, and French builds most of them by adding -ment to the feminine form of an adjective: franc gives franche gives franchement. Adjectives ending in -ant and -ent take -amment and -emment instead, and a handful — bien, mal, vite — have no -ment at all.

Elle a répondu franchement et poliment.

She answered frankly and politely.

What it is

English turns an adjective into an adverb by adding -ly. French does the same thing with -ment, but it adds the ending to the feminine form rather than the masculine one. That single detail explains most of the shapes you'll meet: doux becomes douce becomes doucement, and franc becomes franche becomes franchement.

lent → lente → lentement, heureux → heureuse → heureusement, franc → franche → franchement.

How to spot it

Put the adjective into the feminine, then add -ment. If the masculine already ends in a vowel, skip the feminine and add -ment to it directly.

Il conduit lentement. — He drives slowly. (lente + ment)
Elle parle vraiment bien. — She speaks really well. (vrai + ment)
Il attend patiemment. — He waits patiently. (patient → -emment)
Il parle couramment italien. — He speaks Italian fluently. (courant → -amment)

-amment and -emment are pronounced identically. Only the spelling of the original adjective tells you which one to write.

Adverbs of Manner Quick Reference

How each kind of adjective forms its adverb

Adjective ending	Rule	Example
consonant	feminine + -ment	lent → lentement
-eux	feminine + -ment	heureux → heureusement
vowel (masculine)	masculine + -ment	vrai → vraiment, poli → poliment
-ant	→ -amment	constant → constamment
-ent	→ -emment	évident → évidemment
a few in -e	add an accent	précis → précisément, énorme → énormément
bon / mauvais	irregular	bien / mal
rapide / vite	vite has no -ment	Il court vite.

Common Adverbs of Manner Examples in French

Adverbs of manner across the formation patterns:

Built from the Feminine

Parle doucement, il dort.: Speak quietly, he's asleep.
Elle a agi courageusement.: She acted bravely.
Il l'a fait naturellement.: He did it naturally.
Répondez sérieusement.: Answer seriously.

Doux gives douce, sérieux gives sérieuse, naturel gives naturelle. The adverb inherits whatever the feminine looks like.

The -amment and -emment Group

Il se plaint constamment.: He complains constantly.
Elle parle couramment trois langues.: She speaks three languages fluently.
Conduisez prudemment.: Drive carefully.
Je l'ai vu récemment.: I saw him recently.

Lent is the famous exception: it ends in -ent but gives lentement, not *lemment.

Adverbs Without -ment

Il travaille bien.: He works well.
Tu as mal calculé.: You calculated wrongly.
Marche plus vite !: Walk faster !
Fais-le ainsi.: Do it this way.

Vite has no -ment form. Rapidement exists but is a separate word, slightly more formal in most contexts.

Manner Without an Adverb

Il l'a rangé avec soin.: He put it away carefully.
Elle a accepté sans hésitation.: She accepted without hesitating.
Il m'a regardé d'un air étrange.: He looked at me strangely.
Elle est partie en courant.: She left at a run.

Avec plus a noun is often more idiomatic than a long -ment adverb: avec soin beats soigneusement in speech.

How -ment Adverbs Are Formed

Five patterns cover the whole system, and the last two are short enough to memorise.

Start from the Feminine

The default rule is feminine adjective plus -ment. This is why the adverb often looks nothing like the masculine adjective: franc, franche, franchement; doux, douce, doucement; actif, active, activement.

Il a répondu franchement.

He answered frankly.

feminine + ment.

Vowel Endings Skip the Feminine

If the masculine adjective already ends in a vowel, the feminine e would be silent and pointless, so French uses the masculine instead: vrai gives vraiment, poli gives poliment, absolu gives absolument.

C'est absolument nécessaire.

It's absolutely necessary.

vrai → vraiment, not *vraiement.

-ant and -ent Change Shape

Adjectives ending in -ant give -amment, and those in -ent give -emment. Both endings are pronounced the same way, so the spelling has to be learned from the adjective. Lent is the one common exception, giving lentement.

Il pleut fréquemment en automne.

It rains frequently in autumn.

constant → constamment, prudent → prudemment.

A Few Take an Extra Accent

Précis, profond, énorme, and a handful of others insert an é before the ending: précisément, profondément, énormément. There's no rule to predict them, but the list is short.

Il a énormément travaillé.

He worked enormously hard.

-ément on a small closed list.

Bon and Mauvais Are Irregular

Bon and mauvais don't take -ment at all. Their adverbs are bien and mal, and their comparatives are mieux and plus mal. Bonnement exists but means something else entirely.

Ce plat est bon, et il est bien préparé.

This dish is good, and it's well prepared.

bon → bien, mauvais → mal.

Common Mistakes with Adverbs of Manner

Incorrect: Il parle lentment. — He speaks slowly.

Correct: Il parle lentement. — He speaks slowly.

The adverb is built on the feminine lente, so the e is part of the stem and can't be dropped. Lentement is also the exception to the -ent rule, which makes it doubly worth checking.

Incorrect: Il conduit prudamment. — He drives carefully.

Correct: Il conduit prudemment. — He drives carefully.

Prudent ends in -ent, so the adverb takes -emment. Since -amment and -emment sound identical, you have to check the adjective rather than trust your ear.

Incorrect: Elle chante bonne. — She sings well.

Correct: Elle chante bien. — She sings well.

Chanter is a verb, so it needs an adverb. Bon is an adjective and would have to be describing a noun, and adverbs never agree in any case.

Incorrect: Il court rapidement plus que moi. — He runs faster than me.

Correct: Il court plus vite que moi. — He runs faster than me.

Plus goes directly in front of the adverb, and for speed French prefers vite in everyday use. Rapidement is correct but reads as a register shift in a casual comparison.

When French Skips the -ment Adverb

Long -ment adverbs sound clumsy in speech, and French has three regular ways around them.

Adjectives used as adverbs

A small set of verbs takes a bare masculine adjective in place of an adverb, and it never agrees.

Parlez plus fort, je n'entends rien.: Speak louder, I can't hear a thing.
Ça coûte cher.: That's expensive.
Ils travaillent dur.: They work hard.
Cette fleur sent bon.: This flower smells good.

The list is fixed and short: parler fort, coûter cher, travailler dur, sentir bon or mauvais, voir clair, chanter juste or faux.

Avec, sans, and d'une manière

Manner can be expressed with a preposition plus an abstract noun, which often sounds more natural than the adverb.

Il conduit avec prudence.: He drives carefully.
Elle a répondu sans hésitation.: She answered without hesitating.
Il l'a expliqué d'une manière très claire.: He explained it very clearly.
Elle travaille avec beaucoup de soin.: She works very carefully.

The noun after avec takes no article in these expressions: avec prudence, avec plaisir, avec soin.

En plus the present participle

The gérondif describes an action performed while doing something else, and often does the work of an English adverb.

Il est sorti en courant.: He ran out.
Elle a répondu en souriant.: She answered with a smile.
On apprend en pratiquant.: You learn by practising.

En is the only French preposition that takes the -ant form. Every other one takes an infinitive.

Adverbs of Manner FAQs

How do you form adverbs of manner in French?: Take the feminine form of the adjective and add -ment: lente gives lentement, heureuse gives heureusement, franche gives franchement. If the masculine adjective ends in a vowel, add -ment to that instead: vrai gives vraiment.
Why is it évidemment and not évidamment?: Because the adjective is évident, ending in -ent. Adjectives in -ent give -emment and those in -ant give -amment, and the two endings are pronounced exactly the same. The only reliable guide is the spelling of the adjective you started from.
What's the adverb for bon?: Bien. Bon is an adjective and describes nouns — un bon repas — while bien is the adverb and describes verbs: il mange bien. The same pattern gives mal for mauvais, and the comparatives are mieux and plus mal.
Why do French speakers say parler fort instead of fortement?: Because a small set of verbs takes a bare adjective as an adverb: parler fort, coûter cher, travailler dur, sentir bon, voir clair. The adjective stays in the masculine singular and never agrees, which is what marks it as adverbial.
Is there an adverb for vite?: Vite is already the adverb — there is no vitement. The corresponding adjective is rapide, which gives rapidement, a slightly more formal synonym. In everyday speech, il court vite is what you'll hear.