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Adverbes indéfinis
Talking about indefinite concepts can be tricky in a foreign language, yet indefinite adverbs are rarely covered as a specific topic in class. Instead, students tend to pick them up randomly here and there as needed. I think it’s more helpful to consider them as a group.
Notes
- This is a list of English indefinite adverbs with their French translations; many of the latter are actually adverbial phrases.
- Many of these terms are conjunctions as well, but the translations given here are only for adverbial meanings and usage.
Indefinite adverbs of frequency
| always | toujours | |
| never | ne … jamais | |
| often | souvent | |
| once, twice, three times | une fois, deux fois, trois fois | |
| once or twice | une ou deux fois une fois ou deux |
|
| once in a while | de temps à autre de temps en temps |
|
| rarely | rarement | |
| sometimes | parfois, quelquefois |
Indefinite adverbs of manner
| anyhow | quand même, de toute façon | ||
| anyway (any old way) | n’importe comment | ||
| how else … | comment … autrement | ||
| however | n’importe comment | ||
| somehow (or other) | d’une manière ou d’une autre d’une certaine manière je ne sais comment |
Indefinite adverbs of place
| anyplace, anywhere | n’importe où | |
| elsewhere | ailleurs, autre part | |
| everywhere | partout | |
| nowhere | ne … nulle part | |
| somewhere | quelque part | |
| somewhere else | ailleurs, autre part | |
| wherever | je ne sais où, n’importe où |
Indefinite adverbs of quantity
| a lot | beaucoup (de) | |
| a number of | un nombre de | |
| a little | peu (de) | |
| about | à peu près, environ | |
| as many / much | autant (de) | |
| enough | assez | |
| few | peu (de) | |
| fewer | moins (de) | |
| less | moins (de) | |
| little | peu (de) | |
| how many / much | combien (de) | |
| more | encore (de) | |
| so many / much | tant (de) | |
| some | quelque | |
| somewhat | un peu, quelque peu | |
| too many / much | trop (de) |
Indefinite adverbs of time
| any time | n’importe quand | |
| formerly, in the past | autrefois | |
| sometime | un de ces jours un de ces quatre (matins) un jour ou l’autre |
|
| whenever | n’importe quand |
Related lessons
- Adverbs
- De vs du / de la / des
- Expressions with n’importe
- Indefiniteness
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