Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Learn French quantity and intensity adverbs such as bien, beaucoup, peu, and assez. This lesson explains their invariable nature and usage in sentences to express amount and degree clearly for beginner learners (A1 level). Examples and practical explanations help understand their role and differences from English equivalents.
  1. These adverbs are invariable; they do not change according to gender or number.
AdverbesExemple
Bien (Well)Elle parle bien anglais. (She speaks well English.)
Peu (Little)Il mange peu de légumes. (He eats few vegetables.)
Beaucoup (Much)Ils ont beaucoup d'amis. (They have many friends.)
Assez (Enough)Je suis assez fatigué. (I am quite tired.)

Exceptions!

  1. Adverbs of quantity and intensity can be combined for more precision. Example: Il parle assez bien anglais.

Exercise 1: Les adverbes de quantité et d'intensité: "Bien", "Beaucoup", etc...

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

peu, beaucoup, bien, assez

1.
La maison coûte un million d'euro. C'est ... d'argent.
(The house costs one million euros. That is a lot of money.)
2.
La voiture se vend à quatre cents euros. C'est ....
(The car sells for four hundred euros. It's little.)
3.
Il voyage .... Il part une fois en vacances par an.
(He travels little. He goes on holiday once a year.)
4.
La robe coûte vingt euros et j'ai trente euros. J'ai ... d'argent.
(The dress costs twenty euros and I have thirty euros. I have enough money.)
5.
Nous étudions l'anglais depuis dix ans, donc nous parlons ... anglais.
(We have been studying English for ten years, so we speak English well.)
6.
Elle lit .... Elle a une bibliothèque chez elle.
(She reads a lot. She has a library at home.)
7.
J'achète cinq téléphones par année. C'est ...
(I buy five phones a year. That's a lot.)
8.
Si j'achètes sept paires de chaussettes, j'en ai ... pour la semaine.
(If I buy seven pairs of socks, I have enough for the week.)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct solution

1. Ça coûte _____ trop cher pour mon budget.

(That costs _____ way too much for my budget.)

2. Je préfère payer _____ plutôt qu'avec la carte bancaire.

(I prefer to pay _____ rather than with a credit card.)

3. Le prix est _____ élevé, mais c'est un bon produit.

(The price is _____ high, but it’s a good product.)

4. Il _____ des billets de vingt euros.

(He _____ twenty-euro bills.)

5. Je mange _____ de légumes parce que je n'aime pas ça.

(I eat _____ vegetables because I don’t like that.)

6. Elle _____ par carte bancaire pour plus de sécurité.

(She _____ by credit card for more security.)

Quantity and Intensity Adverbs in French

This lesson focuses on useful French adverbs that convey quantity and intensity, such as bien (well), beaucoup (a lot), peu (few/little), and assez (enough). These adverbs help describe how much or how intensively an action or state occurs.

Key Concepts

  • Invariable These adverbs do not change form based on gender or number.
  • They often modify verbs to indicate degree or frequency, for example, Elle parle bien anglais (She speaks English well).
  • Adverbs can be combined for more precision, such as Il parle assez bien anglais (He speaks English quite well).

Practical Examples

  • Bien: Elle parle bien anglais.
  • Peu: Il mange peu de légumes.
  • Beaucoup: Ils ont beaucoup d'amis.
  • Assez: Je suis assez fatigué.

Instructional Highlights

This content is suitable for A1 beginners learning French. It introduces foundational adverbs that are essential for everyday conversation and understanding descriptions of quantity and intensity. Mastering these adverbs improves your ability to express how often, how much, or to what degree something happens, which is vital for clear communication.

Important Notes on Usage

Unlike English, where adverbs of quantity and degree often vary or require auxiliary words, French adverbs like bien, beaucoup, and peu remain unchanged regardless of the noun they refer to. This simplifies sentence structure but requires attention to placement within the sentence.

Useful Phrases and Differences

  • French: Elle parle bien anglais. (She speaks English well.)
    English equivalent uses "well" as an adverb, and French uses bien in a similar way.
  • French: Il mange peu de légumes. (He eats few vegetables.)
    Here, peu expresses a small amount, differing slightly from English's use of "few" or "little" depending on countability.
  • French: Je suis assez fatigué. (I am quite tired.)
    Assez translates to "enough" or "quite," indicating a moderate degree.

Written by

This content has been designed and reviewed by the coLanguage pedagogical team: About coLanguage

Profile Picture

Alessia Calcagni

Languages for communication in international enterprises and organizations

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

University_Logo

Last Updated:

Thursday, 29/05/2025 15:37