Look at these sentences:
J'ai beaucoup aimé le spectacle.
I really liked the show.
In compounds tenses (e.g. past involving 'avoir' or 'être' as auxiliary verbs), some adverbs are placed between the auxiliary verb and the past participle.
These include: assez, bien, beaucoup, bientôt, déjà, encore, enfin, jamais, mal, mieux, moins, souvent, toujours, trop and vite.
BUT
Certain adverbs of time and manner can both be AT THE END or be AT THE START of the sentence:
e.g. hier, aujourd'hui, avant-hier, après, autrefois,... (and some adverbs ending in -ment for emphasis)
Il s'est retourné lentement.
He turned around slowly.
Lentement, il s'est retourné.
Slowly, he turned around.
Hier, nous sommes allés à Marseille.
Yesterday, we went to Marseille.
Nous sommes allés à Marseille hier.
We went to Marseille yesterday.
AND
Adverbs of place and certain adverbs of time usually FOLLOW the past participle:
e.g. tard, tôt,... and some adverbs ending in -ment
Il est parti tard.
He left late.
Elle a compris facilement.
She understood easily.
Lentement, il s'est retourné.
Slowly, he turned around.
Nous sommes allés à Marseille hier.
We went to Marseille yesterday.
Elle a compris facilement.
She understood easily.
Hier tu as joué au foot.
Yesterday, you played football.
Tu as joué au foot hier.
You played football yesterday.
J'ai beaucoup aimé le spectacle.
I really liked the show.
Il est parti tard.
He left late.
Il s'est retourné lentement.
He turned around slowly.
Hier, nous sommes allés à Marseille.
Yesterday, we went to Marseille.
Position of adverbs.
In a multiple choice question, I was presented with "plus tard" at the beginning of a sentence.
"Plus tard, elle te parlera."
This lesson does not teach this, or did I miss something?
Sidenote...to my ear this sentence sounded correct...I had selected it then checked the lesson, when I did not see this particular construction discussed I reversed my decision. I can hear myself saying "she will talk to you later" in French this way.
Hi Michael,
The position of adverbs is quite complex in French as it is variable and often governed by reasons of style.
In the case of 'plus tard' which is an adverb of time ( enfin, soudain, autrefois, maintenant, etc.) it can be put at the beginning of a sentence for the sake of emphasis.
But there is no hard and fast rule here.
Hope this helps!
Position of adverbs.
In a multiple choice question, I was presented with "plus tard" at the beginning of a sentence.
"Plus tard, elle te parlera."
This lesson does not teach this, or did I miss something?
Sidenote...to my ear this sentence sounded correct...I had selected it then checked the lesson, when I did not see this particular construction discussed I reversed my decision. I can hear myself saying "she will talk to you later" in French this way.
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Ah! then best avoid those...
Franchement and préférablement can be found in different places in a sentence. Take a look at the following examples:
Franchement -
Je vous ai dit franchement ce qui c'est passé = I told you honestly what happened
Franchement, tu exaggères! = To be frank /honest, you are out of order!
Aucun de ses collègues n'étaient franchement meilleurs que lui = None of his colleagues were truly/really better than him
Préférablement = de préférence -
Nous irions préférablement/de préférence en Italie = We would prefer to go to Italy
Il faut prendre deux cachets par jour, de préférence avec les repas = Two tablets per day, to be taken, preferably with meals
Cette fête aurait préférablement/ de préférence lieu le 26 décembre = This party would take place preferably /ideally on the 26th of December
Hope this helps!
Hello Cécile, I think the system thought I was trying to code...!
The word I was after was préférablement, but I’m also curious about franchement. Thank you!
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"Adverbs of place and certain adverbs of time usually FOLLOW the past participle:
e.g. tard, tôt,... and some adverbs ending in -ment
Il est parti tard."
But the "correct"micro-quiz answer for the placement of "plus tard" is at the beginning or end of the sentence. Does adding "plus" modify the normal placement of "tard"?
"Adverbs of place and certain adverbs of time usually FOLLOW the past participle:
e.g. tard, tôt,... and some adverbs ending in -ment
Il est parti tard."
But the "correct"micro-quiz answer for the placement of "plus tard" is at the beginning or end of the sentence. Does adding "plus" modify the normal placement of "tard"?
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Don't have an account yet? Join today
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