French Grammar Explained /
Intensity adverbs
Adverbs can take on many forms. In French, they don't always end in -ment.
I thought so. In English, not all adverbs end in -ly either...
Exactly! Let me show you some other adverbs.
These are the adverbes d'intensité. They are used to give more information on verbs, other adverbs, adjectives or nouns:
trop | beaucoup | vachement |
très | pas mal | plus |
moins | assez | peu |
The word vachement is very colloquial and means vraiment beaucoup. It is mainly used in combination with another adverb or adjective.
I think I've seen these before...
Très bien ! Here are some examples:
J'ai assez mangé.
I have eaten enough.
Tu joues beaucoup trop aux jeux vidéos.
You play video games too much.
Ils ont moins de gâteaux qu'elles.
They have less cakes than them.
Hey, adverbs are actually quite useful for opinions...
Mais oui ! They are used often in many languages, even in English.
Vachement intéressant...
For the grammar nerds:
The adverbs très, trop, assez and peu can sometimes be used together and in combination with other adverbs to emphasize their meaning.
If the adverb precedes a noun, the preposition de (or d') must follow the adverb.
J'ai beaucoup trop de travail.
I have way too much work.
Il reste très peu de chocolat à la maison.
There is very little chocolate left at home.
Je suis vraiment trop fatigué aujourd'hui.
I am really very tired today.