Learn French: Ils sont arrivés et ont écouté patiemment.

Ils sont arrivés et ont écouté patiemment.

They arrived and listened patiently.

Breakdown of Ils sont arrivés et ont écouté patiemment.

they (masculine/mixed)

avoir

to have

Questions & Answers about Ils sont arrivés et ont écouté patiemment.

How do we form the adverb patiemment from the adjective?

The masculine adjective is patient, which ends in -ent. To form an adverb from an adjective ending in -ent, you drop the -nt and add -mment. This creates patiemment. (If the adjective ended in -ant, you would add -amment instead).

How is the ending of patiemment pronounced?

Even though it is spelled with an "e", the -emment ending is pronounced exactly the same as -amment. It uses the French nasal "a" sound. So, the ending of patiemment sounds just like the word amant or the ending of bruyamment.

Why does patiemment go after écouté instead of between ont and écouté?

In the past tense (passé composé), short or common adverbs (like bien, mal, or beaucoup) usually go between the helping verb and the past participle. However, longer adverbs and adverbs ending in -ment (like patiemment) typically go after the past participle.

Why do we use sont for the first verb and ont for the second?