Adverbs and adverbial phrases in the text
1 USAGEa Adverbs are most commonly thought of as modifying verbs:
e.g. il se rend régulièrement(lines 6–7)
but they also modify adjectives:
e.g. extrêmement difficiles(lines 38–9)
They may also modify a whole phrase or sentence, creating a link between what has been said
previously and what is being said now:
e.g. l’avocat Strauss a toutefois été contraint de repasser. .. (lines 9–10)
la situation a néanmoins commencé à évoluer. .. (lines 49–50)
Ainsi, «à partir de 2004, il devrait y avoir.. .»(lines 64–5)
b Adverbs are classified according to how they modify the sense of the word, phrase or sentence.
In the text there are adverbs of manner, e.g. directement(line 63), adverbs of time, e.g. enfin
(line 68), and the concessive sentence-modifying adverbs, toutefois(line 10) and néanmoins
(line 49). For adverbs of place and adverbs of quantity/degree, see Discover more about
adverbs and adverbial phrases, below.
c Adverbs do not always consist of single words. There are many invariable phrases used as
adverbs. These are frequently translated into English by a single word:
e.g. au préalable– first (line 9), en particulier– particularly (lines 41–2)
d The preposition avec+ noun produces many useful adverbial phrases:
e.g. avec fatalité– fatalistically (line 28)
Such a phrase is often preferable to a lengthy adverb in -ment, and in this case is essential,
since there is no adverb in -mentcorresponding to the adjective fataliste.2 FORMATIONMany adverbs are formed by adding -mentto the adjective.
a If the adjective ends in a mute -ein both the masculine and feminine form, simply add -ment
to it:
e.g. pratiquement(line 22); largement(line 43)
b If the adjective ends in a consonant, take the feminine form and add -ment:
e.g. régulièrement(line 7); également(line 8); directement(line 63)
Distinguish carefully between adjectives ending in -eland adjectives ending in -al(see Chapter
16). The former double the ‘l’ in the feminine; the latter do not:
e.g. partiellement; partialement
c There is one exceptional consonant ending to note. If the adjective ends in -entor -ant, change
the -ntof the masculine form to mbefore adding -ment. Note that this results in a double m:
e.g. récemment(line 59)
Adverbs and adverbial phrases 109