Log inSign up

Elle a fini brillamment, et le public a réagi bruyamment.

Elle a fini brillamment, et le public a réagi bruyamment.
She finished brilliantly, and the audience reacted loudly.
From Lesson 256:Adverbs of manner (-amment, -emment)·French

Questions & Answers about Elle a fini brillamment, et le public a réagi bruyamment.

How did we form the adverb brillamment?
It comes from the adjective brillant (brilliant or shining). For adjectives ending in -ant, we drop the -nt and add -mment to form the adverb. Notice that it is spelled with a double 'm'.
Why is bruyamment spelled with an 'a' (-amment) instead of an 'e' (-emment)?
Adverbs follow the spelling of the adjective they come from. Because the adjective for noisy or loud is bruyant (ending in -ant), its adverb form takes -amment. If the adjective ended in -ent, like prudent, the adverb would end in -emment (prudemment). Both endings are pronounced exactly the same way, sounding like a nasal 'ah' followed by 'mahn'.
Why do we use fini and réagi here?
These are the past participles of the verbs finir (to finish) and réagir (to react). Both are regular -ir verbs, which means you form their past participle simply by dropping the 'r'. They are paired with the helper verb avoir (a) to form the passé composé, which is the standard past tense used here for completed actions.
Why is le public translated as the audience?
In French, le public is the standard way to refer to the spectators at a performance, game, or event, which we call the audience in English. Keep in mind that le public is a grammatically singular noun, so it takes the singular verb a réagi even though it refers to a group of people.

Learn Elle a fini brillamment, et le public a réagi bruyamment and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →