French Adverb Placement Chart — Editable Excel Reference Worksheet

A one-page decision chart that replaces trial-and-error adverb placement with a clear, ordered rule system — so learners know where an adverb belongs, and why.

Part of a wider French grammar reference collection, available separately.

Why this exists
Adverb placement in French isn’t free variation, but it isn’t rigid either — some positions are mandatory, some are genuinely flexible, and some are simply the safe default. Most resources blur these together. This chart separates them so learners stop guessing and start choosing.

What it is
A structural reference chart, provided as a print-ready PDF and as an editable Excel worksheet, so you can adapt wording, colours, or layout for your own classroom or printing setup.

What it does well
Replaces guesswork with a clear decision hierarchy: Mandatory, Flexible, Default
Separates non-negotiable placement rules from genuine stylistic choice
Shows why a position is invalid, not just what’s preferred — supports error diagnosis, not just correction
Covers time, place, negation, restrictive/limiting adverbs, sentence adverbs, and intensifiers
Reflects high-frequency spoken French, covering roughly 80% of adverb usage learners encounter

How to use it
Identify the adverb in the sentence
Check Section 1 — does it belong to a mandatory category (time, place, negation, restrictive, sentence adverb, set phrase, intensifier)? If yes, that position is fixed, stop there
If not, check Section 2 — choose placement based on emphasis, rhythm, or style
If no deliberate choice is intended, use Section 3, the neutral default position

What’s included
1-page PDF (colour)
1-page PDF (black & white)
A3 poster PDF
High-resolution PNG
Editable Excel worksheet (colour) — reorder to match your teaching sequence, simplify for lower levels, or adapt for print/projection
Teacher instructions and guidance document (PDF)
Read-me file (PDF)
Licensing and editing notes (PDF)

Who this is for
KS3 and KS4 French teachers
Sixth-form and post-16 French programmes
Independent language teachers and tutors
Language centres and private providers

What this chart doesn’t try to do
This isn’t a complete adverb reference. It covers single-adverb placement in everyday declarative sentences, not multi-adverb stacking, interrogative word order, or literary/formal register. It’s the highest-frequency 80%, by design.

Licence
Single-teacher licence, lifetime.
Classroom use permitted for one teacher
Printing and projection allowed for that teacher’s own classes
Not for redistribution, sharing, or resale
Institutional or multi-teacher use is not included — contact support@swiftfrench.com for those enquiries
Part of the SwiftFrench rule-driven grammar reference series.