So couramment goes in front of the noun?

DianaC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

So couramment goes in front of the noun?

Asked 6 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team memberCorrect answer
Bonjour Beverley !

In French, adverbs tend to be quite flexible :)
We teach the main rule as this is always correct, but then you can sometimes have some "poetic licence", especially in short sentences.

In the case you mentioned, both placements are correct in French:
"Je parle couramment (le) français."
or
"Je parle (le) français couramment."

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt!
RonC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Diana, «So couramment goes in front of the noun?» In a word, no. A general rule of thumb is this: an adverb follows the verb. Position of French Adverbs - general rule Here's the take away from this lesson: Notice that in simple sentences, adverbs are placed right after the verb. You will notice that this states in simple sentences, and of course like everything else in français, there are exceptions which is my reasoning for stating that it is a general rule of thumb.
BeverleyB2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
For example He speaks French fluently. = Il parle francais couramment and He is fluent = Il parle couramment. Beverley
DianaC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
HI again, I think there may be a similar example somewhere on your site, but I can't find it, so I took this from somewhere else. "Cette expression française qui date du dix-neuvième siècle est couramment utilisée de nos jours. " Couramment is before the verb, and the meaning changes.
RonC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Actually couramment is in the middle of the compound verb structure "est utilisée"
BeverleyB2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Comme d'habitude avec des adverbes?
RonC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Merci, Beverley.

So couramment goes in front of the noun?

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