What is another word for but in French?, As a general rule, “but” is one of those words that has a more or less exact French equivalent: mais. Like “but”, mais can mean: however (a point of contestation/contradiction)
Furthermore, How do you say but?, Ways to Say BUT in English
- although.
- however.
- except.
- nevertheless.
- on the other hand.
- still.
- though.
- yet.
Finally, What is à in French?, The preposition à can mean at, in, or to and the preposition de can mean from, of, or out of. À can show point of departure and destination, cause and consequence, means and outcome. De can also indicate origin, point of departure, consequence, and belonging, as well as separation.
Frequently Asked Question:
Does alors mean so or then?
ALORS (adverb) means ‘so,’ or ‘then’ ie: ‘well I guess this will/did happen’ / ‘So what are we going to do? ‘ DONC (conjunction) means ‘therefore’ or ‘thus’ ie: ‘I think, therefore I am’ / ‘He didn’t arrive, so I had to eat alone’
What is Boku in French?
[boku ] adverb. 1. (= en grande quantité) a lot.
What are French synonyms?
In regard to the language, français is the only adjective. … le français – French. la langue française – French language. la langue de Molière – Molière’s language. la langue de Voltaire – Voltaire’s language.
What is moi aussi?
Moi aussi Me too mst.
Is there a difference in pronunciation between BUT and butt?
Is there any difference in pronunciation between ‘but’ and ‘butt’? No. Those two words are homophones in every dialect of English. Their pronunciation may vary from accent to accent, but both words vary in exactly the same way.
What is à used for in French?
Generally speaking, à means “to,” “at,” or “in,” while de means “of” or “from.” Both prepositions have numerous uses and to understand each better, it is best to compare them. Learn more about the preposition de.
What is the difference between à and á in French?
‘a’ is a conjugated form of the verb ‘avoir’ e.g. il a un bateau (He has a boat)’à’ is commonly used as a preposition. Its meaning varies depending on the sentence. It can mean at, in, or to.
Is à a verb in French?
In French, some verbs are followed by the prepositions “à” (je cherche à comprendre) or “de” (J’évite de comprendre), others by nothing (je veux comprendre). … So these verbs need to be memorized in French.
Does alors mean so?
Well then! so! The definition of alors is a French word used as English speakers might say “so,” or “well.” An example of when to use the word alors would be in a sentence such as, “So!
Should I use donc or alors?
“Donc” is a consequence without a sequence between the two clauses. It could be translate by ‘therefore’ in English. “Alors” is a consequence with a sequence involved the first part happens before the second. It is close to the ‘then’ in English.
What is the difference between Puis and alors?
these words are used to combine between sentences or paragraphs in a story or a text the diffrence between them is the chronological order “alors” is the first one (usually) “ensuite” should be in the middle (the second or the third) “puis” is the last one you use in your text or the before last one .
Where do you put donc in a sentence?
if the verb isn’t sitting at the end of the sentence1, donc can also be used in this “weaker” sense, but is usually placed “inside” the sentence2, just after the verb and before any negative marker (such as pas): il vient donc à quatre heures? =he’s coming at 4, then? =he doesn’t want to admit, then, that…
What is Boku money?
: great in quantity or amount : many, much spent beaucoup dollars.
Is bookoo a word?
What Does BooKoo Mean? The slang term “bookoo” means that you have plenty or a lot of something. It means an overabundance of things. The slang term “bookoo” is derived from the French word “beaucoup” which had the same meaning.
Where did the phrase Buku bucks come from?
From Old French biau cop, first attested circa 1210. Equivalent to beau (“nice, beautiful”) + coup (“hit, strike”). The latter word also means “helping of soup or beverage”, first attested circa 1375, whose sense may have triggered or reinforced beaucoup to mean “a lot”.
What is the synonym of French in French?
In regard to the language, français is the only adjective. … le français – French. la langue française – French language. la langue de Molière – Molière’s language. la langue de Voltaire – Voltaire’s language.
There are some words that hold entire sentences together but get overlooked. We spend a lot of time learning complicated verb tenses and intriguing vocabulary words in French, but we may not give much thought to those little, essential elements. And then, one day, you might find yourself wondering about one of them.
For instance, maybe you find yourself asking, “How do you say ‘but’ in French?” Or maybe you know the answer to that already and are thinking of something more specific, like, “How do you say ‘But why?’ in French?” or “Sometimes I hear the word mais used on its own – what’s that all about?”
Do we have the answers to these questions? Mais oui ! (But of course!). Read on to learn all about how to say and use “but” in French.
As a general rule, “but” is one of those words that has a more or less exact French equivalent: mais.
Like “but”, mais can mean:
- however (a point of contestation/contradiction)
- only (again, in the sense of contradiction; for “only” in the sense of an amount or exception, see further on)
- a way to emphasize something. For example: Mais oui (But of course!), Mais je vous en prie ! (Of course, I insist!), Non, mais tu es fou ou quoi ? (Are you crazy or something ? – Note that this expression is very informal)
Mais also has meanings that don’t translate to English as “but”. These include:
- an outraged interjection (kind of like Hey!/Hey, what gives!/Come on!)
- a transition word (sort of like Anyway/But anyway in English)
There are some additional ways to translate “but” into French for some old-fashioned or unusual expressions – for instance, “all but”, or phrases like “She was but a child”. To learn how to translate expressions like these into French, check out WordReference’s page on “but”.
How to translate “but” into French in other contexts
In English, there are a few more ways to use “but” than there are
in French. One very common one is “but” as “except (for)”. For instance, “Everyone but Mary came to the
party.”
In French, you wouldn’t use mais to express this;
instead, you’d use the word it signifies: “except”. So, the sentence would be
translated: Tout le monde est venu à la fête, sauf Mary. Here’s another
example: Tous les enfants sont ici sauf un. (“All of
the children are here, except one.”)
This is the most basic way to translate “but” as “except (for)”.
There are, of course, other
ways to say “except (for)” in French that you could substitute in certain
situations.
Another way you might use
“but” in English that doesn’t translate into French is in a sentence like “I
can’t but agree with you.” When using
this structure, you would use ne…que in French: Je ne peux qu’être
d’accord.
This use of “but” is fairly rare in many versions of English. For
example, as an American, I would tend to say “I can’t help but agree with you”
instead, and if I did that, “can’t help but” is translated completely
differently( as we’ll see a little further on).
How to use mais
Like its English equivalent “but”, you can place mais either at the start of a sentence or in the middle.
Another thing mais and “but” have in common is that its placement is a point of contention for grammarians. Some claim that starting a sentence with mais (or any of its synonyms, which we’ll see later on) is grammatically incorrect. Still, everyone from famous authors past and present, to newspapers, to people in everyday life does this, so it seems like a moot point.
With this in mind, feel free to put mais and its synonyms
at the start or the middle of a sentence. But if you’re communicating with
stuffy grammarians, you may want to consider sticking to the middle.
Where mais differs from the English usage of “but” is that, in certain contexts, you can also use it on its own or put it at the end of a sentence or statement.
Since mais can sometimes be used as an outraged interjection, you may hear people say something like Non, mais !(Unbelievable!) – or even simply Mais! (Come on!).
Mais! on its own is usually used in the heat of the moment, say if two siblings are fighting over something and one tries to grab it out of the other’s hands. The one holding it could say Mais! to signify that they’re outraged and annoyed, and, essentially, protesting the other person grabbing this object from them.
Note that using mais in these ways is very informal. Additionally, unless someone is writing a true-to-life contemporary dialogue or possibly chatting online, you probably would never see mais used these ways in a written context.
How to say some common phrases with “but” in French
Some common English expressions or phrases that use the word “but” translate to something similar in French. Mais some others translate quite differently.
Let’s take a look at some common expressions with “but”, translated into French:
- But of course! – Mais oui!/Mais bien sûr!
- But why? – Mais pourquoi ? Note that, unlike in English, this expression tends to be used as part of a sentence in France. You’re more likely to see something like this: Mais pourquoi tu me parles quand je suis en train de m‘endormir? (Why the heck are you talking to me when I’m trying to fall alseep?), rather than this: – Tu dois aller au marriage de ses chiens ce weekend ! – Mais pourquoi ? (You must go to her dogs’ wedding this weekend! – But why?). Generally, the person would just ask Pourquoi ?
- anything but – tout sauf. Example: Il mange de tout sauf du poisson. (He’ll eat anything but fish.)
- can’t help but – ne pas pouvoir s’empêcher de [faire quelque chose. Example : Je n’ai pas pu m’empêcher de prendre une deuxième part de gâteau. C’était plus fort que moi ! (I couldn’t help but take a second slice of cake. The temptation was too strong!)
- to have no choice but to… – ne pas avoir d’autre choix que de… Example : « Si vous me provoquez, » l’homme mystérieux les a prévenu, « je n’aurai pas autre choix que de vous emprisonner dans ma forteresse. » (If you provoke me,’ the mysterious man warned them, “I’ll have no choice but to hold you prisoner in my fortress.”)
- not only…but also… – pas seulement …mais aussi/pas seulement…mais également. Example : Les baleines ne sont pas seulement impressionnantes mais elles sont aussi gentilles. (Whales are not only impressive but also kind.)
- still/but still – malgré cela/pourtant/cependant. Example: C’est un mauvais garçon ; malgré cela, Maude l’aime. (He’s a bad boy but still, Maude loves him.)
- to name but a few – pour n’en citer que quelques uns/que ceux/celles-là. Example: Ses talents sont l’écriture, la musique, et la danse, pour n’en citer que quelques-uns. (Her talents are writing, music, and dance, to name just a few.)
- on one hand…but on the other hand… – d’un côté…mais de l’autre... Example : D’un côté, il faut éviter de manger trop de sucre, mais de l’autre, le sucre est délicieux ! (On the one hand, you should avoid eating too much sugar, but on the other, sugar is delicious!)
- no ifs, ands, or buts – il n’y a pas de mais
You can find more expressions with “but” and their French translations here.
Other common ways to say “but” in French – and why it’s important to know them
French offers a good selection of synonyms for mais. These are especially important to know because repeating words is considered a huge no-no in French formal writing and speeches.
Of course, there are exceptions, notably slogans, song lyrics, and literary language. But when it comes to expressing thoughts, the French value a fine balance of concision and a lack of repetition above all.
On the other hand, in informal, everyday spoken French, this isn’t as important to keep in mind as it is when you’re writing, especially when you’re writing something formal, professional, or academic. Still, in any context, excessive repetitiveness could be seen as annoying or a sign of a lack of intelligence. Non-native speakers usually get a pass, however, so don’t worry too much. Still, it’s never a bad idea to expand your vocabulary.
So, if you’re writing an academic, professional, or other formal document in French, try to vary your mais’s with some of these alternatives. And even if you’re not in that situation, it’s good to know these because you’ll come across them in books, newspapers, TV, magazines, radio shows, websites, and so on.
Note that, with the exception of par contre and seulement , all of these words are at least a little more formal than mais.
And now, without further ado, here are the most common synonyms
for mais:
- cependant – nevertheless, however. This word can be used in the middle or at the beginning of a sentence.
Example: Jeanne préfère
les chiens aux chats, cependant, elle travaille dans un bar à chats. (Jeanne
prefers dogs to cats ; however, she works at a cat café.).
You can find more sentences with cependant here and here.
- en revanche – in contrast, on the other hand, then again. I love this phrase because it makes me think of another point of view taking its revenge! En revanche can be used at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle.
Examples:
On dit que les chats sont
peu sociables. En revanche, cela rend bar à chats plutôt facile à gérer, car
les chats savent prendre de l’écart s’ils ont besoin de calme. (It’s said
that cats aren’t very sociable. Then again, this makes it easier to run a cat
café, since the cats know to remove themselves if they need some calm.)
On dit souvent que les
chats sont moins aimables que les chiens, en revanche, les chats sont plus
populaires que les chiens comme animal domestique en France. . (They
often say that cats are less friendly than dogs; then again, cats are more
popular pets than dogs in France.)
You can see more sentences with en revanche here.
- néanmoins – nevertheless, nonetheless. This word can be used at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle.
Examples :
Si on ne peut pas avoir son propre chat, on peut néanmoins profiter de leur compagnie dans un bar à chats. (If one cannot have one’s own cat, one can nevertheless enjoy some feline company in a cat café.)
À Tokyo, il y a des bars
consacrés à plusieurs sortes d’animaux, y compris des lapins et des chouettes. Néanmoins,
les bar à chats restent les plus populaires. (There
are many different kinds of animal cafes in Tokyo, including rabbit and owl
cafes. Nevertheless, cat cafes remain the most popular.)
You can see more sentences with néanmoins here.
- or – (and) yet, however. Note that or only means “yet” in the sense of a contradiction, not time, repetition, etc. (here’s how to translate those other meanings). Or can be used in the middle or at the beginning of a sentence.
Examples:
Sandra aime les chats; or
elle n’en a pas chez elle. (Sandra
loves cats, and yet, she doesn’t have any at home.)
Dans cet immeuble, les
locataires n’ont pas le droit d’avoir un animal de compagnie. Or, ils peuvent
quand même avoir des contacts avec des animaux grâce aux endroits comme le bar
à chats. (In this building, renters aren’t allowed to have a pet. Yet, they
can still have contact with animals thanks to places like cat cafes.)
- par contre – by contrast, on the other hand, however. Par contre can be used at the beginning or middle of a sentence.
Examples:
Max aime les chats, par
contre il trouve que les lapins sont sales. Allons-nous plutôt au bar à chats. (Max loves
cats, on the other hand, he thinks rabbits are dirty. So let’s go to the cat
cafe.)
« Les chats font
leurs besoins dans une litière, » Max explique. « Par contre, les
lapins font leurs besoins n’importe où ! » (‘Cats
relieve themselves in a litter box,’ Max explains. ‘On the other hand, rabbits
relieve themselves anywhere they please.’)
You can see more sentences with par contre here.
- pourtant – yet, however, though.
Example : Les
chats semblent préférer la solitude ; pourtant, des chercheurs (ainsi que
de nombreux propriétaires de chats) ont découvert que les chats ressentent de
l’affection pour leurs propriétaires. (Cats seem to prefer solitude ;
however, researchers (as well as countless cat owners) have discovered that cats
feel affection towards their owners.)
You can see more sentences with pourtant here.
- seulement – but, except. Seulement most commonly means ‘only’ in the sense of “the only one”, but just as “only” can be used to mean “but” in English, seulement can mean mais.
Note that this synonym is one of the few on this list that’s
somewhat informal – you shouldn’t use it to signify mais in formal or
academic writing.
Examples:
J’aime ton chat,
seulement, il me griffe chaque fois que j’essaie de le caresser. (I like your cat, only he scratches me every
time I try to pet him.
Thomas serait bien allé
au bar à chats avec nous. Seulement, il est allergique aux chats. (Thomas really would have liked to go to the
cat café with us. Only, he’s allergic to cats.)
- toutefois – however, notwithstanding, nevertheless. This word can go in the middle or at the beginning of a sentence.
Examples :
On a tendance à associer
les bars à chats au Japon, toutefois, le premier bar à chats a été fondé à
Taiwan. (We tend to associate cat cafes with
Japan, however, the first cat café was founded in Taiwan.)
J’ai envie d’aller à un bar
à chats. Toutefois j’ai peur d’avoir du mal à ne pas adopter un des
chats ! (I’d like to go to a cat café. However, I’m afraid that I’d have a
hard time not adopting one of the cats!)
You can see some additional sentences with toutefois here.
A note about punctuation
As you may have noticed from the examples, while certain linguistic aspects of French are very strict, compared to English, punctuation isn’t.
There aren’t many hard and fast rules when it comes to how to punctuate sentences with these words. For instance, semicolons don’t seem to be as commonly used in French as they are in English, so you’ll often find a comma in their place.
Now that you’ve read our guide, are you an expert on using mais and its synonyms? I hope you’ll answer <<Mais bien sûr !>>
Do you have a favorite expression with mais or a favorite mais synonym? Feel free to share it in the comments!
Photo 1 by Edvin Johansson on Unsplash; Photo 2 by Georgina Vigliecca on Unsplash ; Photo 3 by Heather M. Edwards on Unsplash
These examples may contain rude words based on your search.
These examples may contain colloquial words based on your search.
Suggestions
The current farming structure in Albania can be nothing but transitory.
La structure agraire actuelle en Albanie ne peut être que transitoire.
The problem was certainly troubling but should not be exaggerated.
Le problème est certes inquiétant mais il ne doit pas être exagéré.
Because we could live free, but we prefer to remain oppressed.
Puisque nous pourrions vivre libres, mais préférons être opprimés.
Such characters exist, but they are secretive rather than mysterious.
De tels personnages existent mais ils sont secrets et non mystérieux.
This need continues, but some slight progress has been attained.
Cette nécessité demeure, quoique de légers progrès aient été accomplis.
Our marriage was terrible, but we’re great at coparenting.
Notre mariage était terrible, mais nous sommes grands à coparenting.
This weft pattern weaves an original but widely dispersed urban morphology.
Cette trame viaire tisse une morphologie urbaine originale mais très dispersée.
His major duty was neither judicial nor theological, but financial.
Sa principale fonction n’était pas judiciaire ni théologique mais financière.
You answer the questions truthfully… but never volunteer anything.
Réponds aux questions franchement… mais n’offre pas trop de détails.
The cytologies are similar, but these protein links are enmeshed.
La cytologie est similaire, mais ces liens protéiques sont emmêlés.
Mineral structures are exquisite, but they have a limited repertoire.
Les structures minérales sont exquises, mais ont un répertoire limité.
We soon discovered they were dangerous, but very predictable.
Tôt, on a découvert qu’ils étaient dangereux mais très prévisibles.
They have pinpointed a credible threat, but it sounds outlandish.
Ils ont détecté une menace crédible, mais qui semble excentrique.
Suspect vehicle is pinned, but there’s movement within the perimeter.
Véhicule suspect intercepté, mais ça bouge dans le périmètre.
It lays the foundation for meeting ambitious but achievable objectives.
Il jette les bases de la réalisation d’objectifs ambitieux mais faisables.
They are extremely powerful and dangerous but mature very slowly.
Ils sont très puissants et dangereux, quoique leur maturation soit lente.
Financial and staff resources are being reinforced, but remain limited.
Ses ressources financières et humaines, quoique renforcées, restent limitées.
It does not modify policy but streamlines and harmonises legislation.
Il ne modifie pas la politique mais rationalise et harmonise la législation.
Slowly but surely the ground beneath the global economy is shifting.
Lentement mais sûrement, le sol bouge sous l’économie mondiale.
The observation remains unexplained for me, but of moderate strangeness.
L’observation reste inexpliquée pour moi, mais d’étrangeté modeste.
Suggestions that contain but
Results: 5015429. Exact: 5015429. Elapsed time: 1972 ms.
Documents
Corporate solutions
Conjugation
Synonyms
Grammar Check
Help & about
Word index: 1-300, 301-600, 601-900
Expression index: 1-400, 401-800, 801-1200
Phrase index: 1-400, 401-800, 801-1200
Of course, but— Won’t you tell me what happened?
Bien sûr, mais- Dis-moi ce qui est arrivé?
Mais-— C’est minuit passé!
Five weeks, long story, yes, but— Shut up. Here.
Semaines, longue histoire, oui, mais- Ta gueule, tiens.
No, I’m not drinking, but— Oh my God!
Non, je ne bois pas mais- Oh mon dieu!
I’m sorry for the rush, but— it’s okay.
Je déteste vous précipiter, mais-— Ça va.
So, there’s a lot of things, but.
Donc, il y a un tas de choses, mais- Oui.
But in these days I do not have meetings.
I’m not sure but it looks German to me.
Faites attention!- Excusez-moi, cela semble allemand.
But I assure you that every word is true.
But I wouldn’t describe myself as.
Mias je ne dirais pas que j’ai.
Puisqu’il faut le faire, faisons-le vite.
But you don’t have to choose.
Rien ne vous oblige à choisir.
Like ganja, but without the smoke. You want to try it?
Un peu comme la ganja, sans la fumée?
But in your perfection, you cannot know
Cela te fait ignorer combien
I know that, but she can’t just walk out and leave him?
Je sais, merci. Elle va l’abandonner?
Do you have a Jobfeed account but no access to Analytics yet?
Vous avez un compte Jobfeed masi pas encore access à Analytics?
Not one, but two reasons to plan brunch this weekend.
Pas une mais bien deux bonnes raisons d’aller bruncher ce week-end.
Yeah, but what’s your real name?
But as I am quarter of an hour late?
Comment? J’ai un quart d’heure de retard?
Ces eaux tempérées les rendraient
But the kosher thing is different.
Merci. Le cachère est différent.
But that is not a question.
Ceci n’est pas une question.
But both tasks do however
Malgré tout, les deux activités
I’m worried now! But there’s nothing to worry about.
Je commence á m’inquiéter… ll n’y a pas de quoi s’inquiéter.
But breaking in to my office… how is that related?
De là à s’introduire dans mon bureau… En quoi est-ce lié?
Progress is encouraging, but must be continued and stepped up.
Les progrès sont encourageants, ce qui n’empêche pas qu’ils doivent être poursuivis
But there was a conspiracy.
Ll y a eu complot.
But you took it short’cause one
But do not try it with difficult situations-
Parcontre, n’essayez pas cela avec des situations difficiles,
Results: 1547982,
Time: 0.2336
English
—
French
French
—
English
Could you imagine a novel written without any adverbs? It would feel terribly bland and boring, devoid of flavor and lacking substance. You wouldn’t have characters walking awkwardly or talking softly; they couldn’t stare suspiciously or ambiguously. They could only gaze upon the world with flat eyes.
Luckily, writers as well as speakers have a wide collection of adverbs at their disposal to spice things up. French adverbs describe where, when, how, and much more. They can express the feelings and perspective of the speaker and make any description tremendously more lively and colorful, just like adjectives do in their own way—starting with this very sentence!
French adverbs are not particularly tricky, but they still hold a few secrets which we’ll unfold together. In this article, we’ll cover French adverb placement, their formation, and most importantly, we’ll give you an extensive list of the 100 most useful French adverbs to know.
Table of Contents
- French Adverbs User Manual
- The 100 Most Useful French Adverbs
- How FrenchPod101 Can Help You Learn More French
Can you feel the magic of adverbs washing over you?
1. French Adverbs User Manual
1 – What are they?
Adverbs are a type of word that works together with a verb, an adjective, or another adverb to change its meaning or make it more precise. Basically, they describe verbs, adjectives, or fellow adverbs.
Here are some examples of French adverbs:
- Doucement (“Softly”)
- Sérieusement (“Seriously”)
- Furieusement (“Furiously”)
And here’s how they combine with the verb parler (“to speak”):
- Je parle doucement. (“I speak softly.”)
- Je parle sérieusement. (“I speak seriously.”)
- Je parle furieusement. (“I speak furiously.”)
With just one word, you completely change the tone of the sentence and create a whole different mood.
2 – What are they made of?
In French, just like in English, adverbs are often based on adjectives. More specifically, they’re based on the feminine form of the adjective.
Do you remember how French adjectives have masculine and feminine forms? If not, be sure to check our previous article on the 100 Must-Know French Adjectives!
Here’s an example of the masculine vs. feminine forms of French adjectives:
- Doux / Douce (“soft”)
- Sérieux / Sérieuse (“serious”)
Now, here’s how to go about forming French adverbs from adjectives:
Feminine adjective + ment = Adverb
- Douce (“Soft”) >> Doucement (“Softly”)
- Sérieuse (“Serious”) >> Sérieusement (“Seriously”)
- Rapide (“Quick”) >> Rapidement (“Quickly”)
Then, like in English, there are a few exceptions to this rule.
Masculine adjective + ment = Adverb
- Vrai (“Real”) >> Vraiment (“Really”)
Masculine adjective – nt + mment = Adverb
- Fréquent (“Frequent”) >> Fréquemment (“Frequently”)
And of course, there are the rebellious ones that don’t follow any rules:
- Bon (“Good”) >> Bien (“Well”)
- Mauvais (“Bad”) >> Mal (“Badly”)
Finally, many common adverbs in French are not created from adjectives. You’ll find plenty of them in our list.
What are these mysterious adverbs? Let’s find out!
3 – Where do they live?
Now, where do adverbs go in French sentences? Luckily, this is very similar to English.
When adverbs modify verbs, they usually come AFTER the verb.
- Je parle doucement. (“I speak softly.”)
- Elle mange lentement. (“She eats slowly.”)
- Nous travaillons sérieusement. (“We work seriously.”)
When adverbs modify adjectives or adverbs, they come AFTER the verb and BEFORE the adjective / adverb.
- C’est vraiment bien. (“It’s really good.”)
- Il est souvent absent. (“He’s often absent.”)
- Ils sont plutôt intelligents. (“They are rather intelligent.”)
- →Make sure to visit our vocabulary list on the Must-Know Adverbs to Connect Your Thoughts, with audio recordings to practice your pronunciation. It’s freely available on FrenchPod101.com.
2. The 100 Most Useful French Adverbs
1. French Adverbs of Time (When?)
1
| Tard “Late” |
C’est trop tard. “It is too late.” |
2
| Tôt “Early” |
Je me lève tôt. “I wake up early.” |
3
| Bientôt “Soon” |
Nous arriverons bientôt. “We will arrive soon.” |
| Bientôt literally means “Well early.” |
4
| Déjà “Already” |
Tu as déjà mangé ? “Have you eaten already?” |
5
| Hier “Yesterday” |
Je ne l’ai pas vu depuis hier. “I haven’t seen him since yesterday.” |
6
| Aujourd’hui “Today” |
Il fait beau aujourd’hui. “It’s sunny today.” |
| Why is this word so weird? It has a long and interesting story, but to keep it short:
Au + jour + de + hui, literally means “on the day of today.” Hui isn’t used anymore and originally comes from the Latin word hodie. |
7
| Demain “Tomorrow” |
Il va pleuvoir demain. “It’s going to rain tomorrow.” |
8
| Longtemps “A long time,” “Long” |
Ça ne prendra pas longtemps. “It won’t take long.” |
| Longtemps is simply the combination of long (“long”) + temps (“time”). |
9
| Longuement “At length” |
Ils en ont parlé longuement. “They talked about it at length.” |
10
| Brièvement “Briefly” |
Je vais expliquer brièvement les règles. “I will briefly explain the rules.” |
11
| Maintenant “Now” |
Nous partons maintenant. “We leave now.” |
12
| Avant “Before” |
C’était mieux avant. “It was better before.” |
13
| Après “After” |
J’irai après le travail. “I will go after work.” |
14
| Encore “Again,” “Still” |
Ils reviendront encore et encore. “They will come back again and again.” Elle vit encore à cette adresse ? “She still lives at this address?” |
15
| Enfin “At last” |
J’ai enfin terminé ! “I’ve finished at last!” |
16
| Ensuite “Then” |
On va ensuite le mettre au four. “Then, we’re going to put it in the oven.” |
| Another quick tip for this one: une suite means “sequel” or “follow-up.” |
17
| Précédemment “Previously” |
Revenons sur les problèmes mentionnés précédemment. “Let’s go back to the previously mentioned issues.” |
18
| Actuellement “Currently” |
Vous ne pouvez actuellement pas acheter ce produit. “You can’t currently buy this product.” |
| This is what we call a “false friend.” Although it looks like the English word “actually,” it has a different meaning. “Actually” would translate to en fait.
To make things even more confusing, “currently” comes from the same root as couramment which has yet a different meaning (“commonly”). I think I need an Aspirin! |
19
| Dernièrement “Lately” |
Je fume beaucoup dernièrement. “I smoke a lot, lately.” |
| Dernièrement comes from the word dernier (“last”) but it doesn’t mean “lastly.” This would be enfin or finalement. |
20
| Soudain “Suddenly” |
Il a soudain arrêté de fumer. “He has suddenly stopped smoking.” |
21
| Alors “Then” |
Il a alors commencé à boire. “He then started drinking.” |
J’ai enfin terminé ! (“I have finished, at last!”)
2. French Adverbs of Frequency (How Often?)
22
| Jamais “Never” |
Je n’oublierai jamais. “I will never forget.” |
23
| Parfois “Sometimes” |
Elle mange parfois dehors. “She sometimes eats outside.” |
24
| Rarement “Rarely” |
Je vais rarement au cinéma. “I rarely go to the cinema.” |
25
| Trop “Too much” |
J’ai trop mangé… “I’ve eaten too much…” |
| It’s also very common to use trop with the meaning of “so,” either in a positive or negative context:
C’est trop bien ! (“It’s so good!”) |
26
| Souvent “Often” |
Tu fais souvent la fête ! “You often have parties!” |
27
| Habituellement “Usually” |
Il se couche habituellement vers minuit. “He usually goes to bed around midnight.” |
| Habituellement comes from une habitude (“a habit”), and describes something that happens routinely. We use it almost like “usually” for anything that keeps repeating until it becomes predictable. |
28
| Généralement “Generally,” “Usually” |
Ils commencent généralement à l’heure. “They usually start on time.” |
29
| Couramment “Commonly,” “Fluently” |
C’est l’option la plus couramment utilisée. “This is the most commonly used option.” Vous parlez couramment Allemand. |
30
| Toujours “Always” |
Je t’aimerai toujours. “I will always love you.” |
31
| Tout le temps “All the time” |
Elle a tout le temps faim en ce moment. “She’s always hungry lately.” |
32
| Quotidiennement “Daily” |
Il s’entraîne quotidiennement. “He’s training daily.” |
33
| Mensuellement “Monthly” |
Vous serez prélevé mensuellement. “You will be charged monthly.” |
34
| Fréquemment “Frequently” |
J’ai fréquemment envie d’un gros kebab. “I frequently want a big kebab.” |
35
| Peut-être “Maybe” |
Elle viendra peut-être ce soir. “Maybe she’ll come tonight.” |
| This weird contraption is the combination of peut (from the verb pouvoir, meaning “can”) and the verb être (“to be”). It literally means “can be” or “may be.” Quite fitting, right? |
36
| Aussi “As well,” “Too,” “Also” |
Tu veux venir aussi ? “Do you also want to come?” |
37
| Egalement “As well,” “Too,” “Also” |
Tu viendras également ? “Will you come as well?” |
| This is a slightly more sophisticated version of aussi, but they have the same meaning, really. |
38
| Même “Same” |
On a tous les deux la même coiffure. “We both have the same haircut.” |
Il s’entraîne quotidiennement. (“He trains daily.”)
3. French Adverbs of Place (Where?)
39
| Ici “Here” |
Tu viens souvent ici ? “Do you come here often?” |
40
| Là “There” |
Tu peux le mettre là. “You can put it there.” |
41
| Partout “Everywhere” |
Je veux voyager partout ! “I want to travel everywhere!” |
42
| Nulle part “Nowhere” |
Ce chemin ne mène nulle part. “This road is going nowhere.” |
43
| Quelque part “Somewhere” |
Si on continue de marcher, on arrivera quelque part. “If we keep walking, we’ll end up somewhere.” |
44
| Ailleurs “Somewhere else” |
Si on ne peut pas rester ici, on ira ailleurs. “If we can’t stay here, we’ll go somewhere else.” |
45
| Dedans “Inside” |
Tu vois ce qu’il y a dedans ? “Do you see what’s inside?” |
46
| Dehors “Outside” |
Les enfants sont allés jouer dehors. “The kids have gone outside to play.” |
47
| En haut “Up,” “Above” |
Elle a marché tout en haut de la montagne. “She walked all the way up the mountain.” |
48
| En bas “Down,” “Below” |
Elle est revenue en bas pour camper. “We went back down to camp.” |
49
| Dessus “Over,” “On” |
Les ingrédients sont écrits dessus. “The ingredients are written on it.” |
50
| Dessous “Under,” “Below” |
Il est enterré en dessous de ce rocher. “It is buried under this rock.” |
51
| Loin “Far” |
Nous avons marché plus loin que prévu. “We have walked farther than planned.” |
52
| Près “Close” |
Le prochain camp est près du sommet. “The next camp is close to the summit.” |
53
| Autour “Around,” “Round” |
Asseyez-vous autour du feu. “Gather round the fire.” |
54
| Là-bas “Over there” |
Nous y arriverons avant midi. “We will get there before noon.” |
Ils marchent loin. (“They walk far.”)
4. French Adverbs of Manner (How?)
55
| Bien “Well” |
On mange bien ici ! “We eat well here!” |
56
| Mal “Badly,” “Poorly” |
Ce texte est mal traduit. “This text is poorly translated.” |
57
| Doucement “Softly,” “Quietly” |
Parlez doucement, les enfants sont couchés. “Speak softly, the kids are sleeping.” |
58
| Lentement “Slowly” |
Je pédale lentement car je suis fatigué. “I pedal slowly because I’m tired.” |
59
| Vite “Quickly” |
Je pédale plus vite quand je suis en forme. “I pedal faster when I’m in good shape.” |
60
| Rapidement “Fast,” “Quickly,” “Shortly” |
Dis moi si je parle trop rapidement. “Tell me if I speak too fast.” |
61
| Calmement “Calmly,” “Quietly” |
J’attends calmement mon tour. “I quietly wait for my turn.” |
62
| Joyeusement “Joyfully,” “Happily” |
Elle souriait joyeusement. “She was smiling joyfully.” |
63
| Facilement “Easily” |
Tu apprends facilement de nouvelles langues. “You easily learn new languages.” |
64
| Litttéralement “Literally” |
Il y a littéralement des centaines d’adverbes ! “There are literally hundreds of adverbs!” |
65
| Simplement “Simply,” “Just” |
Tu peux simplement le démonter avec cet outil. “You can simply disassemble it with this tool.” Je veux simplement t’aider. “I just want to help you.” |
66
| Gentiment “Gently” |
Demande-moi gentiment. “Ask me nicely (gently).” |
67
| Heureusement “Luckily” |
Heureusement, l’histoire se termine bien. “Luckily, the story ends well.” |
| Beware of another false friend! Heureusement comes from heureux (“happy”), but it doesn’t mean “happily.” This would be joyeusement or volontiers. |
68
| Poliment “Politely” |
On lui a demandé poliment de partir. “We politely asked him to leave.” |
69
| Brusquement “Suddenly” |
Le sentier s’arrête brusquement. “The trail suddenly stops.” |
70
| Naturellement “Naturally” |
Nous cherchons naturellement un autre chemin. “We naturally look for another way.” |
71
| Précisemment “Precisely” |
Nous marchions depuis précisément une heure. “We were walking for precisely one hour.” |
72
| Parfaitement “Perfectly” |
Je savais parfaitement où nous allions. “I knew perfectly well where we were heading.” |
73
| Sérieusement “Seriously” |
Nous pensons sérieusement à revenir sur nos pas. “We’re seriously considering backtracking.” |
74
| Ainsi “As well as,” “Thus,” ? |
On pourrait ainsi trouver notre chemin. “It would allow us to find our way.” |
| This one is tough to translate. It often means “as a result,” but in a more subtle way… So subtle that it could often be omitted in most translations. |
Je m’excuse poliment. (“I politely apologize.”)
5. French Adverbs of Quantity and Degree (How Much? To What Extent?)
75
| Vraiment “Truly,” “Really” |
J’ai vraiment faim ! “I’m really hungry!” |
76
| Plutôt “Rather” |
Tu ne veux pas plutôt reprendre un verre ? “Won’t you rather have another drink?” |
77
| Assez “Enough” |
Tu ne crois pas que tu as assez bu ? “Don’t you think you’ve been drinking enough?” |
78
| Tout “All,” “Everything” |
Je veux tout essayer. “I want to try everything.” |
79
| Rien “Nothing” |
Tu n’as encore rien vu. “You haven’t seen anything yet.” |
80
| Surtout “Especially” |
J’aime surtout le vin. “I especially love wine.” |
| Quick tip: Surtout literally means “above all.” |
81
| Beaucoup “Many,” “Much,” “A lot” |
Tu en bois beaucoup. “You drink a lot of it.” |
82
| Seulement “Only” |
J’en ai bu seulement quatre verres. “I only had four glasses.” |
83
| Presque “Almost” |
Tu as presque fini la bouteille. “You almost finished the bottle.” |
84
| Quasiment “Almost” |
La seconde bouteille est quasiment pleine. “The second bottle is almost full.” |
85
| Peu “Little,” “Few” |
Il en reste peu. “There is little left.” |
86
| Très “Very,” “Really” |
Le fromage aussi est très bon ! “The cheese is very good as well!” |
87
| Nettement “Clearly” |
C’est nettement meilleur avec du pain. “It’s clearly better with bread.” |
88
| Carrément “Totally” |
Ah oui, j’avais carrément oublié. “Oh yes, I totally forgot.” |
89
| Absolument “Absolutely” |
Tu dois absolument essayer. “You absolutely need to try.” |
90
| Franchement “Frankly,” “Really,” “Truly” |
C’est franchement délicieux. “It’s really delicious.” |
91
| Certainement “Certainly,” “Probably” |
Celui-ci est certainement mon préféré. “This one is certainly my favorite.” |
92
| Extrêmement “Extremely” |
Il est extrêmement cher. “It’s extremely expensive.” |
93
| Terriblement “Terribly,” “Badly” |
J’en ai terriblement envie. “I badly want it.” |
94
| Combien “How,” “How much,” “How many” |
Tu sais combien ça coûte ? “Do you know how much it cost?” |
95
| Plus “More” |
J’en commanderai plus la prochaine fois. “I will order more next time.” |
96
| Davantage “More” |
J’en commanderai davantage tout à l’heure. “I will order more later.” |
| This is the sophisticated version of plus. Both have very similar meanings. |
97
| Moins “Less” |
Je dépenserais moins, si j’étais toi. “I would spend less, if I were you.” |
98
| Tant “That much,” “So much,” “So many” |
J’ai tant d’argent que je peux payer ce soir. “I have so much money that I can pay tonight.” |
99
| Tellement “So,” “So much,” “So many” |
Tu es sûr ? C’est tellement cher. “Are you sure? It’s so expensive.” |
100
| Environ “About,” “Approximately” |
Il y en a pour environ 100€. “It will be around 100€.” |
- →Learn more useful French adverbs with our free vocabulary list on the Position and Direction Adverbs.
Ils boivent vraiment trop. (“They really drink too much.”)
3. How FrenchPod101 Can Help You Learn More French
In this guide, you’ve learned everything about French adverbs, from their formation to their placement in a sentence. You’ve also studied a list of the 100 most useful French adverbs. Did I forget any important adverb that you know? Do you feel ready to add them to your speech and impress your French-speaking friends with your tasteful and accurate descriptions?
FrenchPod101 also has tons of vocabulary lists with audio recordings, and free resources to boost your studies and keep your French learning fresh and entertaining!
Remember that you can also use our premium service, MyTeacher, to get personal one-on-one coaching with your private teacher, who will help you practice with adverbs and more. Your teacher will also give you assignments, personalized exercises, and recorded audio samples, and will review your own recordings to help improve your pronunciation. Happy learning on FrenchPod101.com!
About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.
By
Last updated:
January 30, 2023
Learning French from scratch can be an exhilarating experience.
Exhilarating, but also daunting.
But with a solid understanding of common verbs, perhaps the most important part of the language for beginners, you won’t feel so daunted.
You will have found the key to understanding a lot more everyday conversation.
Contents
- 1. Être (to be)
- 2. Avoir (to have)
- 3. Aller (to go)
- 4. Pouvoir (to be able to)
- 5. Vouloir (to want)
- 6. Faire (to do)
- 7. Parler (to speak)
- 8. Demander (to ask)
- 9. Savoir (to know)
- 10. Venir (to come)
- 11. Dire (to say)
- 12. Devoir (to have to)
- 13. Donner (to give)
- 14. Falloir (to need/to be necessary)
- 15. Trouver (to find)
- 16. Manger (to eat)
- 17. Rendre (to return/give back)
- 18. Mettre (to put)
- 19. Rester (to stay)
- 20. Tenir (to hold/keep)
- 21. Prendre (to take)
- 22. Passer (to pass)
- 23. Comprendre (to understand)
- 24. Sortir (to go out/leave)
- 25. Partir (to leave)
- 26. Voir (to see)
- 27. Porter (to wear/carry)
- 28. Montrer (to show)
- 29. Penser (to think)
- 30. Suivre (to follow)
- 31. Connaître (to know)
- 32. Croire (to believe)
- 33. Entendre (to hear)
- 34. Attendre (to wait)
- 35. Commencer (to start/begin)
- 36. Devenir (to become)
- 37. Appeler (to call)
- 38. Décider (to decide)
- 39. Arriver (to arrive)
- 40. Servir (to serve)
- 41. Finir (to finish)
- 42. Revenir (to come back)
- 43. Recevoir (to receive)
- 44. Répondre (to respond)
- 45. Vivre (to live)
- 46. Agir (to act)
- 47. Jouer (to play)
- 48. Aimer (to love/to like)
- 49. Choisir (to choose)
- 50. Ouvrir (to open)
- Resources to Practice French Verbs
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
1. Être (to be)
Behold: the undisputed most common verb in the French language.
And are you surprised?
Take note of how often you use the verb “to be” and its conjugations (am, are, is) in English, and you’ll see why être is so common in French. Furthermore, even though this verb means “to be” by itself, it can also be used as a support verb for compound verb tenses.
And even though être is irregular, once you have it memorized, it’s infinitely useful.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je suis
- Tu es
- Il est / Elle est / On est
- Nous sommes
- Vous êtes
- Ils sont / Elles sont
Examples:
Je suis un homme.
(I am a man.)
Nous sommes étudiants.
(We are students.)
2. Avoir (to have)
The second most common French verb, avoir (to have), is also irregular.
As with être, this verb is used to make compound verb tenses. But for now, let’s not worry about that.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- J’ai
- Tu as
- Il a / Elle a / On a
- Nous avons
- Vous avez
- Ils ont / Elles ont
Examples:
Tu as un chien.
(You have a dog.)
Vous avez des crayons.
(You have some pencils.)
3. Aller (to go)
Another irregular verb, aller is an extremely useful verb to know, and it means “to go.”
Like être and avoir, aller can be used in compound verbs, most notably in the future tense.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je vais
- Tu vas
- Il va / Elle va / On va
- Nous allons
- Vous allez
- Ils vont / Elles vont
Examples:
Il va chez moi.
(He is going to my place.)
Elles vont à la banque.
(They [f.] are going to the bank.)
4. Pouvoir (to be able to)
While also an irregular verb, pouvoir carries the same meaning as “can” in English.
It’s a very common verb, and it’s commonly used in the conditional form in order to make requests and ask for things in restaurants, at hotels and in stores.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je peux
- Tu peux
- Il peut / Elle peut / On peut
- Nous pouvons
- Vous pouvez
- Ils peuvent / Elles peuvent
Examples:
Je peux parler français.
(I can speak French.)
Ils peuvent manger.
(They can eat.)
5. Vouloir (to want)
In a lot of ways, the conjugation of vouloir is much like the conjugation of pouvoir.
It means “to want” in English, and once again, this verb is used to make requests and ask for things when it’s conjugated into the conditional tense.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je veux
- Tu veux
- Il veut / Elle veut / On veut
- Nous voulons
- Vous voulez
- Ils veulent / Elles veulent
Examples:
Tu veux un stylo.
(You want a pen.)
Elle veut des crayons.
(She wants some pencils.)
6. Faire (to do)
Faire is the French verb meaning “to do” or “to make,” and like the others on this list, it’s common not only in vocabulary but also in its grammatical function.
For example, it can be used in imperative or command phrases such as Faites vos devoirs ! (Do your homework!). And you guessed it, this verb is also irregular.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je fais
- Tu fais
- Il fait / Elle fait / On fait
- Nous faisons
- Vous faites
- Ils font / Elles font
Examples:
Vous faites une tasse de café.
(You’re making a cup of coffee.)
Ils font leur travail.
(They’re doing their work.)
7. Parler (to speak)
The verb parler (to speak) is a regular verb and it follows the regular -er ending conjugation pattern, which involves dropping the -er ending and adding other endings.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je parle
- Tu parles
- Il parle / Elle parle / On parle
- Nous parlons
- Vous parlez
- Ils parlent / Elles parlent
Examples:
Je parle français.
(I speak French.)
Nous parlons hollandais.
(We speak Dutch.)
8. Demander (to ask)
As with the verb parler, demander is a regular -er verb that means “to ask.”
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je demande
- Tu demandes
- Il demande / Elle demande / On demande
- Nous demandons
- Vous demandez
- Ils demandent / Elles demandent
Examples:
Tu me demandes pourquoi.
(You ask me why.)
Elles demandent quelque chose à manger.
(They [f.] ask for something to eat.)
9. Savoir (to know)
Savoir (to know) is one of the ways to say “to know,” but there is another word with similar meaning, connaître (to know).
The distinction is complex, so for now, let’s just say that savoir means “to know something” like a fact or a skill.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je sais
- Tu sais
- Il sait / Elle sait / On sait
- Nous savons
- Vous savez
- Ils savent / Elles savent
Examples:
Il sait parler anglais.
(He knows how to speak English.)
Que savez-vous ?
(What do you know?)
10. Venir (to come)
Next, we have the verb venir (to come). This verb is an irregular one, but there are other verbs that follow venir‘s irregular pattern.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je viens
- Tu viens
- Il vient / Elle vient / On vient
- Nous venons
- Vous venez
- Ils viennent / Elles viennent
Examples:
Je viens de Paris.
(I come from Paris.)
Tu viens de Toronto.
(You come from Toronto.)
11. Dire (to say)
While not many verbs conjugate similar to dire, it’s a very useful verb when you have something to say.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je dis
- Tu dis
- Il dit / Elle dit / On dit
- Nous disons
- Vous dites
- Ils disent / Elles disent
Examples:
Elle ne dit rien.
(She isn’t saying anything.)
Nous disons qu’il est drôle.
(We say that he is funny.)
12. Devoir (to have to)
This next verb may look familiar, but it’s quite irregular and doesn’t really follow any pattern that we know. However, this verb is commonly grouped with pouvoir, vouloir and savoir.
Not only do they have the same ending in the infinitive form, but they also kind of follow a similar conjugation pattern.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je dois
- Tu dois
- Il doit / Elle doit / On doit
- Nous devons
- Vous devez
- Ils doivent / Elles doivent
Examples:
Vous devez dire la vérité.
(You have to say the truth.)
Ils doivent aider leurs parents.
(They have to help their parents.)
13. Donner (to give)
It’s been a while since we’ve done a regular verb that follows a known pattern.
Lucky for us, donner is a regular -er that follows the same conjugation pattern as demander and parler.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je donne
- Tu donnes
- Il donne / Elle donne / On donne
- Nous donnons
- Vous donnez
- Ils donnent / Elles donnent
Examples:
Je donne un cadeau à mon père.
(I’m giving a gift to my dad.)
Ils donnent leur adresse.
(They’re giving their address.)
14. Falloir (to need/to be necessary)
Falloir is a little bit of a strange verb on our list. Even though it’s used rather frequently, it doesn’t follow the same conjugation pattern as other verbs. Not only is it irregular, but it only has one conjugation.
That’s right!
Falloir only conjugates with one subject pronoun. To be used properly, falloir only conjugates with il. In this way, it’s an impersonal conjugation. Il does not mean “he” in this conjugation; rather, it means “it.”
Il faut revenir chez nous à 11h30.
(It’s necessary to return to our place at 11:30 am.)
15. Trouver (to find)
Trouver is an -er verb, and it follows the exact same pattern as other -er verbs.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je trouve
- Tu trouves
- Il trouve / Elle trouve / On trouve
- Nous trouvons
- Vous trouvez
- Ils trouvent / Elles trouvent
Examples:
Tu y trouves un parc.
(You find a park there.)
Vous trouvez l’homme coupable.
(You find the man guilty.)
16. Manger (to eat)
A language like French has a rich culinary culture and tradition, so learning how to use the verb “to eat” is essential.
Manger is a regular -er verb with a kick. It follows the regular -er verb conjugation pattern for the most part, but an extra e is added to the nous form so that the g keeps its sound.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je mange
- Tu manges
- Il mange / Elle mange / On mange
- Nous mangeons
- Vous mangez
- Ils mangent / Elles mangent
Examples:
Elle mange le petit-déjeuner.
(She eats breakfast.)
Nous mangeons dans la cuisine.
(We eat in the kitchen.)
17. Rendre (to return/give back)
Rendre is a regular verb, but it’s part of a different group of regular verbs that end in -re.
There aren’t that many verbs in this group, but once the pattern is learned, all of them can be conjugated.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je rends
- Tu rends
- Il rend / Elle rend / On rend
- Nous rendons
- Vous rendez
- Ils rendent / Elles rendent
Examples:
Je rends le livre.
(I return the book.)
Vous rendez les stylos.
(You return the pens.)
18. Mettre (to put)
This next verb ends in -re, but it’s not quite a verb that follows the regular conjugation pattern for other -re verbs.
In fact, it’s similar to other -re verbs except that it drops the second t in its je, tu and il/elle forms. Once that small change is memorized, this verb is infinitely useful.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je mets
- Tu mets
- Il met / Elle met / On met
- Nous mettons
- Vous mettez
- Ils mettent / Elles mettent
Examples:
Tu mets les pâtes dans l’eau.
(You put the pasta in the water.)
Nous mettons les affiches sur les murs.
(We put the posters on the wall.)
19. Rester (to stay)
While this verb looks like it should mean “to rest,” it actually means “to stay.” Let’s see this verb in action.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je reste
- Tu restes
- Il reste / Elle reste / On reste
- Nous restons
- Vous restez
- Ils restent / Elles restent
Examples:
Elle reste au bureau.
(She stays at the office.)
Ils restent dans la forêt.
(They’re staying in the forest.)
20. Tenir (to hold/keep)
Do you remember when we conjugated the verb venir a while back?
Well, let me introduce you to its sister: tenir. It’s conjugated almost exactly the same way. In fact, the only difference in the conjugations are the first letters. Check out what I mean.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je tiens
- Tu tiens
- Il tient / Elle tient / On tient
- Nous tenons
- Vous tenez
- Ils tiennent / Elles tiennent
Examples:
Je tiens le bouquet.
(I’m holding the bouquet.)
Elle tient le bras de l’enfant.
(She holds the child’s arm.)
21. Prendre (to take)
Like other -re verbs on this list, this one is irregular.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je prends
- Tu prends
- Il prend / Elle prend / On prend
- Nous prenons
- Vous prenez
- Ils prennent / Elles prennent
Examples:
Tu prends la cahier sur le pupitre.
(You take the notebook on the desk.)
Nous ne prenons pas l’argent.
(We’re not taking the money.)
22. Passer (to pass)
Passer is another regular -er verb that follows the regular pattern.
It means “to pass” as in “to pass by something or someone” but it can also have the meaning of “to visit” as in “to pass by.” Further, it can also talk about the passing of time.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je passe
- Tu passes
- Il passe / Elle passe / On passe
- Nous passons
- Vous passez
- Ils passent / Elles passent
Examples:
Vous passez vos grands-parents.
(You’re passing by your grandparents’ place.)
Ils ne passent pas chez moi.
(They’re not visiting my place.)
23. Comprendre (to understand)
Comprendre means “to understand,” but inside of it is the verb prendre. We know the conjugation pattern for prendre, and comprendre is conjugated the exact same way, just with the letters com- at the beginning.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je comprends
- Tu comprends
- Il comprend / Elle comprend / On comprend
- Nous comprenons
- Vous comprenez
- Ils comprennent / Elles comprennent
Examples:
Je comprends l’anglais.
(I understand English.)
Tu comprends l’activité de mathématiques.
(You understand the math activity.)
24. Sortir (to go out/leave)
Sortir is an irregular verb that follows a conjugation pattern similar to other irregular verbs such as mettre and our next verb partir.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je sors
- Tu sors
- Il sort / Elle sort / On sort
- Nous sortons
- Vous sortez
- Ils sortent / Elles sortent
Examples:
Je sors les soirs.
(I go out in the evenings.)
Nous ne sortons pas vendredi.
(We’re not going out on Friday.)
25. Partir (to leave)
Not only does partir follow a very similar conjugation pattern to sortir, but it also has a very similar meaning.
Partir also means “to leave,” but it has a more definite meaning. Rather than meaning specifically leaving a room, partir means that the leaving is permanent, and the person leaving does not intend to return.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je pars
- Tu pars
- Il part / Elle part / On part
- Nous partons
- Vous partez
- Ils partent / Elles partent
Examples:
Tu pars au Brésil.
(You’re leaving for Brazil.)
Elle ne part pas.
(She isn’t leaving.)
26. Voir (to see)
The next verb on our list is voir. As you’ve probably noticed with other verbs that end in -oir, this verb is also irregular.
However, voir does have some similarities with other verbs with the same endings, even if it doesn’t appear so at a first glance.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je vois
- Tu vois
- Il voit / Elle voit / On voit
- Nous voyons
- Vous voyez
- Ils voient / Elles voient
Examples:
Vous voyez bientôt le médecin.
(You’re seeing the doctor soon.)
Ils voient ce que je veux dire.
(They see what I mean.)
27. Porter (to wear/carry)
Porter is a regular -er verb that has two meanings.
Firstly, it means “to wear” as in “wearing clothes.”
Secondly, it means “to carry” as in the act of holding something in your hand or otherwise and taking it somewhere. As usual, this regular -er verb follows the regular conjugation pattern.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je porte
- Tu portes
- Il porte / Elle porte / On porte
- Nous portons
- Vous portez
- Ils portent / Elles portent
Examples:
Je porte un chandail.
(I’m wearing a sweater.)
Ils portent le frigo ensemble.
(They’re carrying the fridge together.)
28. Montrer (to show)
The next verb on our list is also a regular -er verb. It has the meaning “to show” but can also mean “to indicate” or “to point out.”
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je montre
- Tu montres
- Il montre / Elle montre / On montre
- Nous montrons
- Vous montrez
- Ils montrent / Elles montrent
Examples:
Tu montres ta nouvelle voiture à ta famille.
(You show your new car to your family.)
Vous montrez beaucoup d’amour à vos enfants.
(You show a lot of love to your kids.)
29. Penser (to think)
Like porter and montrer, penser is also a regular -er verb that has two meanings. It has the pretty basic meaning of “to think.”
It can also be used to ask about someone’s opinion of something. Here it is following the regular -er conjugation pattern.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je pense
- Tu penses
- Il pense / Elle pense / On pense
- Nous pensons
- Vous pensez
- Ils pensent / Elles pensent
Examples:
Il ne pense pas avant de parler.
(He doesn’t think before speaking.)
Nous pensons finir nos travaux.
(We think we’re finishing our work.)
30. Suivre (to follow)
Not only is suivre an irregular verb, but its conjugations for the je and tu form look a lot like the conjugation of être in the je form.
Don’t let it confuse you, though: in the wild, it all comes down to context. In that sense, it’ll always be easy to figure out what someone is saying.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je suis
- Tu suis
- Il suit / Elle suit / On suit
- Nous suivons
- Vous suivez
- Ils suivent / Elles suivent
Examples:
Vous ne suivez pas les instructions.
(You’re not following the instructions.)
Elles suivent le cours.
(They [f.] are taking the course.)
31. Connaître (to know)
This verb also means “to know,” but rather than an emphasis on a concrete skill or fact, connaître means “to know someone” or “to be acquainted with someone.” It can also mean “to recognize” or “to be familiar with” when talking about an inanimate object or abstract concept.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je connais
- Tu connais
- Il connaît / Elle connaît / On connaît
- Nous connaissons
- Vous conaissez
- Ils conaissent / Elles conaissent
Examples:
Je connais la fille.
(I know the girl.)
Tu connais bien les professeurs.
(You know the teachers well.)
32. Croire (to believe)
Croire is a useful verb that means “to believe.” It can talk about beliefs generally, but it can also be used to express an opinion.
Croire is also an irregular verb that follows a pattern similar to voir.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je crois
- Tu crois
- Il croit / Elle croit / On croit
- Nous croyons
- Vous croyez
- Ils croient / Elles croient
Examples:
Elle croit que la maladie est fatale.
(She believes that the sickness is fatal.)
Nous croyons pouvoir finir le travail.
(We believe we can finish the work.)
33. Entendre (to hear)
Finally, we have another regular verb that ends in -re.
It follows the expected pattern, and it has a pretty simple meaning: “to hear.”
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- J’entends
- Tu entends
- Il entend / Elle entend / On entend
- Nous entendons
- Vous entendez
- Ils entendent / Elles entendent
Examples:
Vous entendez ce que je dis ?
(Are you hearing what I’m saying?)
Ils entendent la musique.
(They hear the music.)
34. Attendre (to wait)
Attendre means to wait, but it also has the meaning “to wait for.” Additionally, this verb can also mean “to expect.”
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- J’attends
- Tu attends
- Il attend / Elle attend / On attend
- Nous attendons
- Vous attendez
- Ils attendent / Elles attendent
Examples:
J’attends le bus.
(I’m waiting for the bus.)
Elle attend l’avion.
(She’s waiting for the plane.)
35. Commencer (to start/begin)
The next verb on our list looks familiar, and that’s because the English word “commence” comes from this French verb.
As such, this verb means “to start” or “to begin,” and it’s a regular -er verb. There’s one catch, however: the c that comes after the -er changes to a ç in the nous form to maintain its sound.
This verb also takes the preposition à after it so that it gets the meaning “to start to” or “to begin to.”
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je commence
- Tu commences
- Il commence / Elle commence / On commence
- Nous commençons
- Vous commencez
- Ils commencent / Elles commencent
Examples:
Tu commences à manger le déjeuner.
(You’re starting to eat the lunch.)
Nous commençons à étudier le français.
(We begin to study French.)
36. Devenir (to become)
Devenir means “to become” and is pretty much the verb venir with an added de- at the beginning.
While their meanings are similar (both have “come” in them), their conjugations are almost identical, making this irregular verb quite easy to conjugate and memorize.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je deviens
- Tu deviens
- Il devient / Elle devient / On devient
- Nous devenons
- Vous devenez
- Ils deviennent / Elles deviennent
Examples:
Vous devenez amis avec les garçons.
(You’re becoming friends with the boys.)
Ils ne deviennent pas membres de la classe.
(They’re not becoming members of the class.)
37. Appeler (to call)
This verb is a regular -er verb at first glance, but there’s a slight variation in its conjugation pattern.
Namely, the letter l gets doubled in all subjects except for nous and vous.
Furthermore, it can mean “to call” as in someone’s name as well as “to get someone’s attention,” but it can also mean “to call” by telephone.
In that way, appeler is a synonym with the verb téléphoner (to call by telephone).
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- J’appelle
- T’appelles
- Il appelle / Elle appelle / On appelle
- Nous appelons
- Vous appelez
- Ils appellent / Elles appellent
Examples:
J’appelle mon enfant “Henri.”
(I call my child “Henri.”)
Vous n’appelez pas votre mère.
(You’re not calling your mom)
38. Décider (to decide)
Décider is a regular -er verb through and through. There are no particularities that make it slightly different from the rest in its conjugation group, so just apply the endings for each subject as expected.
To make things even easier, décider is a cognate of English. It means “to decide.” Simple!
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je décide
- Tu décides
- Il décide / Elle décide / On décide
- Nous décidons
- Vous décidez
- Ils décident / Elles décident
Examples:
Tu décides la réponse ?
(Are you deciding the answer?)
Elles décident de manger.
(They [f.] are deciding to eat.)
39. Arriver (to arrive)
Like our previous verb, arriver follows the regular -er conjugation pattern and it’s a cognate in English. It means “to arrive.”
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- J’arrive
- Tu arrives
- Il arrive / Elle arrive / On arrive
- Nous arrivons
- Vous arrivez
- Ils arrivent / Elles arrivent
Examples:
Il arrive au Canada.
(He arrives in Canada.)
Nous arrivons au restaurant.
(We arrive at the restaurant.)
40. Servir (to serve)
This verb means “to serve,” and it follows a unique conjugation pattern. While it looks similar to mettre, this one will need to be completely memorized to be learned correctly. In addition to “serve,” this verb can also mean “to be used for.”
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je sers
- Tu sers
- Il sert / Elle sert / On sert
- Nous servons
- Vous servez
- Ils servent / Elles servent
Examples:
Je sers le déjeuner.
(I’m serving lunch.)
Nous servons au restaurant indien.
(We’re serving at the Indian restaurant.)
41. Finir (to finish)
Finir means “to finish” and it follows the regular -ir verb pattern. That means that other regular verbs ending in -ir can follow this conjugation pattern as well.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je finis
- Tu finis
- Il finit / Elle finit / On finit
- Nous finissons
- Vous finissez
- Ils finissent / Elles finissent
Examples:
Tu finis de manger.
(You finish eating.)
Elles finissent à 16h.
(They [f.] finish at 4:00 pm.)
42. Revenir (to come back)
Revenir isn’t a regular -ir verb. On the plus side, it’s conjugated like other verbs that we’ve seen: venir, tenir and devenir.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je reviens
- Tu reviens
- Il revient / Elle revient / On revient
- Nous revenons
- Vous revenez
- Ils reviennent / Elles reviennent
Examples:
Il revient de Paris.
(He’s coming back from Paris.)
Vous ne revenez pas avec les chiens.
(You’re not coming back with the dogs.)
43. Recevoir (to receive)
Recevoir means “to receive,” but it can also mean “to collect” as well as “to host someone.”
It’s conjugated similar to voir, but it also takes a ç in some forms to maintain the sound of the word.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je reçois
- Tu reçois
- Il reçoit / Elle reçoit / On reçoit
- Nous recevons
- Vous recevez
- Ils reçoivent / Elles reçoivent
Examples:
Nous recevons les lettres ?
(Are we receiving letters?)
Vous recevez toujours les amis.
(You’re always hosting friends.)
44. Répondre (to respond)
In the midst of irregularities, répondre is a verb that’s both very regular and similar to English.
It means “to respond” and it follows the regular -re conjugation pattern.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je réponds
- Tu réponds
- Il répond / Elle répond / On répond
- Nous répondons
- Vous répondez
- Ils répondent / Elles répondent
Examples:
Tu réponds à la question.
(You’re responding to the question.)
Ils répondent aux appels à démissionner.
(They’re responding to calls to resign.)
45. Vivre (to live)
Our next verb is an irregular -re verb. That means its pattern must be memorized separately. It means “to live” as in “to be alive,” and it also means “to inhabit” as in a house or a city.
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je vis
- Tu vis
- Il vit / Elle vit / On vit
- Nous vivons
- Vous vivez
- Ils vivent / Elles vivent
Examples:
Je vis encore.
(I’m still alive.)
Vous vivez à la ville.
(You live in the city.)
46. Agir (to act)
This verb follows the regular -ir conjugation pattern. It means “to act” but it can also mean “to impact” or “to affect” when followed by the preposition sur (on).
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- J’agis
- Tu agis
- Il agit / Elle agit / On agit
- Nous agissons
- Vous agissez
- Ils agissent / Elles agissent
Examples:
Il/elle agit sur les plantes.
(She doesn’t affect the plants.)
Nous n’agissons pas comme les adultes.
(We aren’t acting like adults.)
47. Jouer (to play)
Jouer is a regular -er verb and it means “to play.”
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je joue
- Tu joues
- Il joue / Elle joue / On joue
- Nous jouons
- Vous jouez
- Ils jouent / Elles jouent
Examples:
Tu joues toujours.
(You always play.)
Il ne joue jamais avec ses amis.
(He never plays with his friends.)
48. Aimer (to love/to like)
This verb means “to love” or “to like,” and it’s a regular -er verb. What’s not to love about that?
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- J’aime
- T’aimes
- Il aime / Elle aime / On aime
- Nous aimons
- Vous aimez
- Ils aiment / Elles aiment
Examples:
Elle aime lire.
(She likes to read.)
Nous aimons nos enfants.
(We love our kids.)
49. Choisir (to choose)
The next verb on our list is also a regular verb. This one follows the regular -ir verb conjugation pattern, and it means “to choose.”
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- Je choisis
- Tu choisis
- Il choisit / Elle choisit / On choisit
- Nous choisissons
- Vous choisissez
- Ils choisissent / Elles choisissent
Examples:
Je choisis de lire ce livre.
(I’m choosing to read this book.)
Nous choisissons le restaurant.
(We’re choosing the restaurant.)
50. Ouvrir (to open)
Our last verb ends in -ir but conjugates like a regular -er verb. It means “to open.”
Here are the present tense conjugations:
- J’ouvre
- Tu ouvres
- Il ouvre / Elle ouvre / On ouvre
- Nous ouvrons
- Vous ouvrez
- Ils ouvrent / Elles ouvrent
Examples:
Tu ouvres la fenêtre.
(You open the window.)
Nous ouvrons les bouteilles de champagne.
(We’re opening the bottles of champagne.)
Resources to Practice French Verbs
Here are some of the best resources you can use to get to know French verbs and practice using them yourself:
- 501 French Verbs — This guide will give you hundreds of French verbs along with their conjugations of examples of usage.
- FluentU — This language learning program is based on learning in context with authentic French videos. Each clip has interactive captions which help you understand verb conjugations and dissect phrases word-for-word.
- YouTube — This platform is a great way to find French videos on anything you want, whether it’s learning-focused or not.
- Other French content — Seeing verbs in action is a great way to naturally pick up on how they work. Check out French music, novels, movies and TV shows.
With constant practice, you’ll breeze through common French verbs and steadily move on to more advanced ones. Soon enough, your phrases will become more impressive and sophisticated as well.
Happy learning!
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
If you’ve mastered the standard French language, it’s time to incorporate some words en verlan, a form of French slang that plays around with the syllables of a word, in order to sound more like a native speaker. Here are 15 words that are commonly “verlanized” that will help you understand what your French friends are talking about.
1. Céfran — Français
Let’s start with the basics. Céfran, [say-frahn] is verlan for Français. To ask if someone is French, you’d say “Il est céfran?”
2. Tromé — Métro
Tromé, [tro-may] verlan for Métro, is one you’ll definitely hear in everyday conversation. If someone asks you, “Il est ou le tromé?” know that it’s just a cool way to say Métro.
3. Cimer — Merci
Spice up the standard merci by using its inverse, cimer. [see-may] If your friend does you a solid, say, “T’es trop sympa, cimer!”
4. Ouf — Fou
Also the French expression for “phew!”, ouf [oof] is verlan for fou, meaning crazy. If you’re pressed up against the window on a crowded metro, you’d say, “Il y a trop de monde, c’est ouf.” Ouf can also mean crazy like crazy good.
5. Meuf — Femme
Meuf, [muf] verlan for femme, translates to “chick.” If your friend is checking out a woman in a bar, you can ask him, “t’aimes bien cette meuf?” Meuf also works for “girlfriend.”
6. Reuf — Frère
Reuf, [ruf] comes from frère, meaning brother. You might hear a guy greet his friend with “Quoi de neuf mon reuf?” It doesn’t mean they’re actually brothers, it’s just like saying, “what’s up, dude?”
7. Keum — Mec
The word mec becomes keum [kuhm] en verlan. If you met a cute guy at a bar, you’d tell your friend, “ J’ai rencontré un keum hyper-cool hier soir.”
8. Teuf — Fête
Use teuf, [tuf] verlan for fête, next time you want to thank the host of a party, tell them “ta teuf était géniale!”
9. Vénère—Énervé
Vénère [veh-nair-ay] comes from the word énervé, meaning angry. If someone steals your wallet, you’d say, “Quelqu’un a volé mon portefeuille! Je suis énervé, moi!”
10. Chanmé — Méchant
This one is really popular with the younger crowd in France. Chamné [shahm-nay] comes from the word méchant, which you may understand to mean “mean,” but en verlan, it translates to something like “wicked” (in the East Coast sense of the word). If you went to an awesome concert, you’d say “le concert était chanmé!”
11. Chelou — Louche
Use chelou [shuh-loo], verlan for louche, to describe something or someone that is shady. For example, if you go to a creepy part of town you’d say “je n’aime pas être seul dans cette quartier. C’est louche là-bas.”
12. Kainri — Américain(e)
Use kainri [ken-ree] when you want to say something is American or looks American. (Kainri is the verlan of the second half of the word “Américain”). When you see a girl going out in a crop top, you can say “elle a un style de kainri.” Or if your French friends have solo cups at a party someone might say “on boit dans des gobelets rouges comme des kainri.”
13. Réssoi — Soirée
Here’s another word for party, because the French love their parties. “Tu va à la réssoi?” [ray-swah]
14. Relou — Lourde
Relou [ruh-loo] is verlan for lourde, meaning heavy. Use it when you want to describe something dense or boring. For example, if your boss keeps repeating the same thing over and over again in a meeting, you’d say “il est tellement relou.”
15. Flic — keuf
You may know the slang word flic for police officer. To make the word extra cool and slang-y, use the inverse and say keuf [kuff]. Hypothetically speaking, if you and your friends were up to no good, you’d yell “Vite! Voila les keufs!”
A note about spelling: verlan is technically a made-up language so there are no definite rules about whether you have to add an e to the end of a word to make it feminine or an s to the end of a word to make it plural.