Français — Adverbs in -ment
Most French manner adverbs are built from an adjective plus the ending -ment, roughly like English -ly. The base is usually the feminine adjective: lent → lente → lentement.
How it works
Take the feminine form of the adjective and add -ment: heureux → heureuse → heureusement, doux → douce → doucement. If the masculine adjective already ends in a vowel, add -ment straight to it: vrai → vraiment, poli → poliment. Adjectives in -ent and -ant give -emment and -amment: prudent → prudemment, courant → couramment.
Examples
| Adjective (m. → f.) | Adverb | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| lent → lente | lentement | feminine + -ment |
| heureux → heureuse | heureusement | feminine + -ment |
| vrai → vraie | vraiment | vowel ending: add -ment to masculine |
| poli → polie | poliment | vowel ending: add -ment to masculine |
| prudent | prudemment | -ent → -emment |
| courant | couramment | -ant → -amment |
| gentil → gentille | gentiment | irregular |
Good to know
Both -emment and -amment are pronounced [amã], so prudemment and couramment sound identical in their ending — the spelling depends only on the adjective (-ent vs -ant). Watch out for irregulars: gentil gives gentiment (not gentillement), and a few adjectives take a written accent, as in précis → précisément, énorme → énormément.