french exclamative Adverbs



French Exclamative Adverbs - Adverbes d'exclamation

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The imperative expresses an order, hope, or wish:

French exclamatory expressions often use interrogative words, like quel (what + noun), que (how + adjective), and quoi (what), as well as other expressions like comme (which literally means as but translates to how for exclamations).

Bottom of Form

Exclamative adverbs are placed in front of clauses to indicate shock, disbelief, awe, or some other strong emotion felt by the speaker. There are five French exclamative adverbs:

1.       comme

2.       que

3.       qu'est-ce que

4.       ce que

5.       combine

Comme means "how," though many English speakers are likely reword the sentence to use "so" instead:

Comme il est mignon!

 How cute he is!

Comme il fait beau !
   How nice the weather is! The weather is so nice!

Comme c'est difficile !

   How difficult it is! It's so difficult!

Comme tu es grand !
   How tall you are! You're so tall!


Que is more or less interchangeable with comme :

Qu'il fait beau !
   How beautiful the weather is!

Que c'est difficile !
   How difficult it is!

Que c’est laid!

How ugly it is!

Que tu es grand !
   How tall you are!
Que de is used in front of nouns to stress "so much" or "so many" of something:
Que d'argent !
   So much money!

Que de monde !
   So many people!

Que de difficultés !
   So many problems!


Que followed by a subjunctive clause creates an indirect command .

Que + subjunctive

Que followed by the subjunctive creates a third person command or wish :

Qu'elle finisse avant midi !
   I hope she's done by noon!

Qu'il me laisse tranquille !
   I wish he'd just leave me alone!

Informally, qu'est-ce que and ce que can replace comme and que :

Qu'est-ce qu'il fait beau ! Ce qu'il fait beau !
   The weather is so beautiful!

Qu'est-ce que c'est difficile ! Ce que c'est difficile !
   It's so difficult!

Qu'est-ce que tu es grand ! Ce que tu es grand !

   You're so tall!

Exclamative adjective

The exclamative adjective quel is used to emphasize nouns: Quel is an adjective and as such it must match the noun it describes in gender and number.

To make things even more specific, the noun can also be described by an adjective, as in Quels grands arbres! (What tall trees!). When you use an adjective, the rules of placement of adjectives apply and the BAGS adjectives come before the noun, whereas regular adjectives follow it.

The following examples illustrate the difference between BAGS adjectives (which come before the noun) and regular adjectives (which come after the noun).
Quelle bonne idée !
   What a good idea!
Quel désastre !
   What a disaster!

Quel oiseau magnifique!

What a beautiful bird!
Quelle loyauté il a montrée !
   What loyalty he showed!

Exclamative adverbs

Exclamative adverbs add emphasis to statements:

Que c'est délicieux !
   It's delicious!

Comme il est beau !
   He is so handsome!

Qu'est-ce qu'elle est mignonne!
   She sure is cute!


Combien means "how much" or "how many" and must be followed by an adverb or by de + noun:

Combien plus d'énergie que j'ai ! Combien plus d'énergie ai-je !
   How much more energy I have! (I have so much more energy)

Combien d'argent que tu dépenses ! Combien d'argent dépenses-tu !
   How much money you're spending! (You're spending so much money!

Note: The clause that follows the modified noun requires either inversion or que .


Combien means "how much/many" or "so much/many" and may be followed by a clause, an adverb, or de + noun:

Combien il a changé !
   How he has changed! (He's changed so much!)

Combien en a-t-on vus !
   How many we saw! (We saw so many!)

Combien de fois ne lui a-t-on pas répété !
   How many times have we told him! Mais

The conjunction mais can be used to emphasize a word, phrase, or statement:

- Tu viens avec nous ? - Mais oui !
   - Are you coming with us? - Why yes!

- Il veut nous aider - Mais bien sûr !
   - He wants to help us - But of course!

Mais je te jure que c'est vrai !
   But I swear it's true!
Mais combien plus noble si les hommes mouraient pour des idées vraies !
 But how much more noble if men died for real ideas!

Interjections

Just about any French word can be an exclamation if it stands alone as an interjection:

Voleur !
   Thief!

Silence !
   Quiet!

Quoi and comment are used as interjections to express shock and disbelief:
Quoi ! Tu as laissé tomber cent euros ?
   What! You dropped a hundred euros?

Quoi! Il a fait ça!

What! He did that!
Comment ! Il a perdu son emploi ?
   What! He lost his job?

Indirect Exclamations

All of the above are known as direct exclamations, because the speaker is exclaiming his or her own feelings of shock, disbelief, amazement, etc. Indirect exclamations, in which the speaker is explaining rather than exclaiming, differ from direct exclamations in three ways: they occur in sub-clauses, do not have an exclamation point, and require the same grammatical changes as indirect speech :

Quelle loyauté il a montrée ! > Je sais quelle loyauté il a montrée
   What loyalty he showed! > I know how much loyalty he showed

Comme c'est délicieux ! > J'ai dit comme c'était délicieux
   It's delicious! > I said it was so delicious


In addition, the exclamative adverbs que , ce que , and qu'est-ce que in direct exclamations always change to comme or combien in indirect exclamations:

Qu'est-ce c'est joli ! > Il a dit comme c'était joli
   It's so pretty! > He said how pretty it was

Que d'argent tu as gaspillé ! > Je sais combien d'argent tu as gaspillé
   You've wasted so much money! > I know how much money you've wasted

How to include just an adjective in a French exclamation

When what you’re exclaming about is obvious enough, you don’t need a noun in your exclamation and you can just say something like How beautiful!, skipping both a noun and the verb. To do the same thing in French, you can skip the noun, but you can’t skip the verb. C’est (it is) must be included.

But you have a choice for the exclamatory expression: You can use que or comme, which are totally interchangeable, or sometimes skip the exclamative word and make a very short sentence with just an exclamation mark. Check out these examples, which all convey the same message:

Que c’est beau! (How beautiful!)

Comme c’est beau! (How beautiful!)

C’est beau! (That’s beautiful!)

When you use just c’est + adjective, without an exclamatory word, sometimes ça (that) is added at the end for emphasis like this: C’est fou, ça! (Literally: That’s crazy, that!)

After c’est, all adjectives are masculine when the noun is not expressed (included in the phrase), despite the gender of the noun. C’est beau can refer to either la lune (the moon) or le soleil (the sun).

Use the following list to find some very common exclamations that don’t translate literally into English.

·         Quelle chance!/Quelle malchance! (How lucky/unlucky!)

·         Quelle horreur! (How horrible!)

·         Quel travail! (That’s a lot of work!)

·         Quel imbécile! (What an imbecile!)

·         Quelle barbe! (What a bore! [literally: What a beard!])

·         Comme c’est triste! (How sad!)

·         C’est beaucoup! (That’s a lot!)

·         Quoi! (What!)

·         Comme c’est gentil (à vous/toi) (How kind [of you])

·         Quel soulagement! (What a relief!)

Expressing Emotion in French Without Cursing!

French is both beautiful and expressive. Like other languages, it has words unsuitable in public, often used when tensions are running high! You don’t have to resort to bad language when you’re feeling excited! Many phrases help you express frustration, anger and positive emotional extremes without losing your dignity or inflaming the situation. Although the French do curse, they also place emphasis on proper use of their language. Expressing your feelings in correct, clean French will impress the natives. Slang and colloquialisms should be used only if you’re sure of their meaning—often difficult to determine! It’s best to be cautious by choosing universally acceptable phrases to avoid causing offense. This guide provides key words and phrases for expressing strong feelings or letting off steam in the native language!

Something You Hate

When faced with unpleasant food or someone’s ill-mannered behavior, it’s useful and classy to express extreme displeasure in French using the right words.

• Je trouve…(I find…) is elegant and polite for expressing a negative opinion. If someone is disgraced, you might say Je trouve ça minable. (I find that pathetic.)
• Show your disappointment with someone with Quel dommage ! (What a pity!)

These phrases apply to distasteful things you’ll encounter in France, from art to food:

• C’est nauséabond. (It’s nauseating.)
• Cela me dégoû. (That disgusts me.)
• C’est immond.e (It’s despicable.)
• Quelle horreur ! (How horrible!)

Getting involved in an argument or lovers’ tiff may require the following phrases:

• Quelle sottise ! (Such foolishness!)
• Quelle deception ! (What lies!)
• Quelle salade ! (Literally, “What a salad!” meaning “What a pack of lies!”)

If exasperated, try saying:

• J’en ai marre ! (I’m fed up with it!)
• C’est le bouquet ! (That’s the last straw!)

If worse comes to worst:

• Je ne veux plus te revoir ! (I never want to see you again!)
• Va te faire voir ! (Get lost!)
• Bon débarras ! (Good riddance!)
• Allez-vous-en ! (Go away!)
• Tu peux toujours courir ! (Go chase yourself! – literally “You can still run!”) conveys exactly how you feel without turning the air blue.
• Il vous en cuira ! (“You’ll be sorry!” – literally “You cook it.”)

Something You Love

Emotional extremes can also be positive. You might exclaim formidable/génial/hyper bien/fantastique/ fabuleux(euse)/sensationnel(elle)/merveilleux(euse)/chouette/super ! (great/brilliant/fantastic!)

• Say Quel…fantastique ! (“What a fantastic…!” inserting the appropriate noun)
• Je m’amuse bien ! (I’m having a great time!)
• Je suis content d’être ici ! (I’m excited to be here!)
• C’est formidable ici ! (It’s great here!)

Various statements of happiness include:

• Je suis heureux comme un poisson dans l’eau. (I’m happy as a fish in water.)
• Je suis extatique ! (I’m ecstatic!)
• Quelle chance ! (What luck!)

To approve something someone has suggested, said or done, say:

• A la bonne heure ! (That’s great!)
• C’est bon ! (Enough said!)
• Elle est bonne, celle-là ! (That’s a good one!)

Exclamations and Mild Curses

While these phrases are useful, sometimes you need something to express anger, frustration or surprise, as much through short, punchy syllables as literal meaning. If you keep it clean, not only will you save face, but also your vocabulary will suit nearly all situations.

• Zut ! (Damn!) is the mild French curse heard most often. It can be used to form phrases, like Ah zut ! (Oh no!), Zut alors ! (for frustration or surprise), or Zut là ! (Whatever!).
• Cause toujours ! (literally “Chat away!”) conveys being bored with what someone is saying.
• Mince alors ! also means “Damn it!” or “Holy cow!”
• Saperlipopette ! (My goodness!) is slightly archaic, originating in corruption of Sacré Dieu (Holy God).
• Ça alors ! (“I’ll be darned!”)

Other phrases express surprise or outrage:

• Hélas non ! (Unfortunately not!)
• Pardi ! (Of course!)
• Pas si bête ! (Not if I can help it!)

Mild insults include:

• Hardi ! (Saucy!)
• Idiot(e) !
• Imbécile !
• Crétin !

More strongly, identifying someone as a complete idiot:

• Vrai idiot !
• Parfait imbécile !
• Crétin fini !

Sometimes it’s best to just say it clearly:

• Je suis très en colère contre vous. (I’m very angry with you.);
• J’ai dépassé le stade de la colère. (I’m beyond angry.)
• Maintenant je suis furibond/hors-de-moi ! (Now I’m furious/beside myself with anger.)
• Vachement, (really) or franchement (frankly) can be added to many phrases to make them stronger.

While caution is wise, try using these phrases appropriately. They are a part of the living spoken language. You’ll sound like a true French speaker if you use them for the right situation!