# FR: aussi - place de l'adverbe



## marbeannie

I would like to say "I also spent time with my new french friends"

My guess is:
J'ai aussi passé les temps avec mes nouveaux amis français.


Is the "aussi" in the correct place? Or should it be after the _passé?_

_MERCI!

_*Moderator note: *multiple threads merged to create this one


----------



## liulia

"J'ai aussi rencontré mes amis français."


----------



## bergil

bonjour,
'aussi' est bien placé
mais il faudrait dire 'j'ai aussi passé du temps avec mes ....'

Personnellement, je préfère utiliser 'également' à la place de 'aussi' : je trouve cela plus élégant, mais c'est un point de vue purement personnel ;o))

'j'ai également passé du temps avec mes ....'


----------



## Felicite

Bonjour!

here is the sentence.

Je vais prendre aussi du beurre.

why don't we put 'aussi' between the 2 verbs ' vais' and 'prendre' as 'aussi' is an adverb. is it because the above sentence is in immediate future tense? therefore, we will only stress the second verb which is the main verb here?


----------



## piladong

la phrase correcte est :je vais aussi prendre du beurre.
exemple :  Je vais acheter des pommes, je vais aussi prendre du beurre.


----------



## pieanne

If you say "je vais prendre du beurre aussi", it's a bit ambiguous.
It can mean "I too will have some butter",
Or
"I'll have some butter as well" (as in the example illustrated by Piladong)


----------



## JoeSouthern

In french would this be the correct location of aussi, "En Hochelaga, les Indiens ont aussi présenté, pour la première fois, a les Français le tabac" Or in english: "Also in Hochelage, the indians introduced, for the first time, to the frenchman tobacco" I think I may have asked this before but I cannot find the thred, sorry.

Thank You


----------



## Maître Capello

Yes, the location of _aussi_ is correct—it is usually located *right after* the verb or auxiliary…

_A Hochelaga, les Indiens ont *aussi* fait découvrir le tabac aux Français._

_C'est *aussi* à __Hochelaga que les Indiens ont fait découvrir le tabac aux Français._


----------



## Riverby

When you use _aussi_ to express consequence, I understand you place the verb before its subject. For exampleCes étoffes sont belles, aussi *coûtent-elles* cher.​But what if the subject in the consequence clause is not a pronoun? For example, how should I write this?Il y a un accident, aussi la route est bloquée.​


----------



## janpol

Il y a eu un accident, aussi la route est-elle bloquée.


----------



## The Jolly Jogger

I want to say, "that propaganda was criticised but what he is doing could also be interpreted as propaganda." I am not sure where the _aussi_ should go. Here is my attempt following the rule that adverbs go before past participles and after modal verbs: Cette propagande là était critiquée mais ce qu’il fait pourrait être aussi interpreté comme la propagande.
Thank you in advance, JJ


----------



## Jeanclaude01

your translation is right.
Just notice that you have to say "comme de la propagande "et non "comme la propagande"


----------



## lfeb

Bonjour. Quand on utilise ce mot avec un verb, est-ce qu'il faut le mettre apres le verbe, ou est-ce qu'on peut le mettre a la fin de la phrase? 
Ex. Est-ce qu'on peut le mettre _aussi_ a la fin de la phrase?
Est-ce qu'on peut le mettre a la fin de la phrase _aussi_?

Ou: Je suis _aussi _de Springfield.
Je suis de Springfield _aussi_


----------



## SwissPete

My preferences:
Est-ce qu'on peut le mettre _aussi_ *à* la fin de la phrase?
Je suis _aussi _de Springfield.


----------



## chloax

Oui peut importe où tu le mets, il n'y a pas d'emphase. Cela veut dire également, pareillement

En revanche, si tu dis : "Je le savais, aussi je n'ai rien dit" ici le sens est complètement différent et veut dire : c'est pourquoi, en conséquence ... 

Chloax


----------



## agvlasho

Hi, just wanted to check that the placement of _aussi_ in this sentence is correct, thanks for the help!

 _Elle a voulu savoir pourquoi, et j’ai dit que mon amie Emma restait chez ses grands-parents à Naples pendant une semaine aussi_.


----------



## janpol

"aussi" peut être placé ailleurs mais cela entraînerait des changements de sens.


----------



## LMorland

JoeSouthern said:


> Or in english: "Also in Hochelage, the indians introduced, for the first time, to the frenchman tobacco


Just so that no non-English speaker should get the impression that this is a legitimate English sentence, here is how it should read:





> Also, it was in Hochelage that the Indians introduced tobacco to the French for the first time.


----------



## Charlie51

In the sentence "Vous avez passé votre enfance là aussi?" (Did you spend your childhood there as well?) is "aussi" in the correct place?

Merci à l'avance!


----------



## Juan Jacob Vilalta

Pas de problème.


----------



## JeanDeSponde

It could be
_Vous aussi [vous] avez passé votre enfance là ? / Vous avez passé votre enfance là vous aussi ?_ (in the same place as someone else),
or
_Vous avez passé votre enfance là aussi ?_ (you have spent your childhood in several places);
Now
_Vous avez aussi passé votre enfance là ?_ could be understood with both meanings I think.


----------



## WatsJusto

Il me semble que c'est juste mettre le mot 'aussi' ou avant l'objet direct ou après:
Par exemple:  J'ai aussi ce livre - I also have that book - J'ai ce livre aussi.
Cependant, ce fait (si c'est juste) me semble problèmatique quand il y a un adjectif - Ex: Je suis triste aussi = I am sad also/ Je suis aussi triste... = I am as sad...

Est-ce vous me comprenez?


----------



## Keith Bradford

Take care, Wats.  In English and in French, the general rule is to keep words like _also _and _only _as close as possible to the word they relate to.  *I also have that book *should mean _You're not the only person who_...  It translates as _*Moi aussi, j'ai ce livre*_.

I guess that's not the sense you were looking for, and the best English version would be _I have that book also/too_.  That translates as _J'ai ce livre aussi_, if I'm not mistaken.

Your difficulty over _aussi = as _only arises with adjectives: not the case here.


----------



## gpuri

In relation to the above example, can you say: "je aussi vais prendre du beurre"?
In English we can move "also" around without too much trouble. 
e.g. "I also want some butter; 
I want some butter also; 
Also, I want some butter"

Is there a general rule for the placement of 'aussi'?
e.g. in "il y a aussi un café" the 'aussi" come before the noun whereas I put it after the noun.


----------



## kiefer

no gpuri, "je aussi vais prendre du beurre" will sound strange in French.
=> you don't put "aussi" before the main verb.


----------



## Kelly B

If you mean, _I, too, will take some butter (just like you did)_, though, wouldn't you say
_Moi aussi, je vais prendre du beurre, _or is there a better way to phrase that?
(is that the follow-up question you meant, gpuri?)


----------



## wildan1

And if you put _Aussi_ at the beginning of the sentence, it has a much different meaning (usually more formal context):

_Aussi vais-je prendre du beurre = Therefore, I will get some butter. _(The subject and verb are usually inverted.)

If you want to say _"Also,…" _say, _Et aussi, je vais...

_Voir aussi ce fil dans le Forum Français Seulement


----------



## gpuri

ok, so to confirm: we usually put 'aussi' after the main verb; if we put 'aussi' before the main verb, this changes the meaning and usually requires inversion or use 'et aussi'.

But what about with nouns? Must 'aussi' come before the noun? e.g. "il y a aussi un café" 
Are there any other correct structures to this?


----------



## gpuri

Thanks for the responses. Any thoughts on the placement of 'aussi' with nouns?
Must 'aussi' come before the noun? e.g. "il y a aussi un café" 
Are there any other examples of how the placement of aussi is important to learn?


----------



## WatsJusto

Thank you Keith and all who comment. Supposing that "J'ai ce livre aussi" is correct, is it equally correct (and equivalent) to say: "J'ai aussi ce livre" ? Merci d'avance


----------



## SwissPete

"J'ai aussi ce livre" would sound more natural to me.


----------



## PMCB

This was touched on earlier, but would someone please confirm which is correct to say, if you mean, "I am also sad" - "Je suis triste, aussi," or "Je suis aussi triste" ?  Feel free to answer in French or in English.


----------



## jann

But what does "I am also sad" mean?  Does it mean that you are sad in addition to being tired and hungry?  Or that you, like your friends and family, are sad?


----------



## Maître Capello

Note that there is exactly the same ambiguity in French with both phrases.

_Je suis triste, *aussi*_ = I'm sad too.
_Je suis *aussi* triste_ = I'm also sad.


----------



## gpuri

SwissPete said:


> "J'ai aussi ce livre" would sound more natural to me.



So answer my question earlier, it seems that "il y a aussi un café" would be correct as '_aussi_' would usually come before the noun.
in contrast to previous discussion, _aussi _would usually go after the verb.

Please confrim.
merci d'avance.


----------



## Maître Capello

gpuri said:


> as '_aussi_' would usually come before the noun


No, I wouldn't say that. As a matter of fact, _aussi_ modifies first and foremost a phrase, not just a noun or adjective. It therefore definitely comes after the verb (or its auxiliary), but as for its placement with respect to the noun, there is no strict requirement. That being said, it is correct that _aussi_ usually comes right after the verb (and hence before the noun), and less often at the end of the sentence. Hence _J'ai aussi ce livre_ is a bit more common than _J'ai ce livre, aussi_.


----------



## The little help

Yep Kelly B it's right. And we are by the way really used to say _Moi aussi j'ai ce livre_ or _J'ai ce livre moi aussi_.
  And one thing you guys haven't taken into consideration is that when someone wants to say _I also have this book_ they would say I also have it.
At least this is the case in French. J'ai aussi ce livre or J'ai ce livre aussi dont actually sound really commun. We'd rather say _Je l'ai aussi_ or _je l'ai moi aussi_.


----------



## bevare

Salut!

Je m'y suis inscrit pour pouvoir résoudre mon petit problème - la place de l'adverbe en concernant les temps composés. 
On dit :
*Les Belges ont aussi chanté* 
ou 
_*Les Belges ont chanté aussi

*_et la forme interrogative - Ont les Belges aussi chanté? 

Merci d'avance.


----------



## Warisover

Ce qui serait le plus correct serait : Les Belges aussi ont chanté, mais ta deuxième phrase est correcte aussi !


----------



## Louise92

Hello,

Where do I put aussi in the sentence:

'Cependant, cette phrase cite aussi l'Ump'
Or
'Cependant, cette phrase cite l'Ump aussi' 

Merci


----------



## gwen_de_macon

'Cependant, cette phrase cite aussi l'Ump'

ça dépend un peu du contexte : pour donner une tournure plus élégante, mais celle ci me parait correct


----------



## janpol

> _Moi aussi j'ai ce livre or J'ai ce livre moi aussi._


Le fait d'ajouter "moi" me semble éviter l'ambigüité.
J'ai ce livre moi aussi >>> tu as ce livre, moi aussi je l'ai.
J'ai aussi ce livre / j'ai ce livre aussi >>> comme toi je possède "Les Misérables" mais j'ai aussi, du même auteur, ce livre que je te montre, là, dans ma bibliothèque : "Notre-Dame de Paris".


----------



## ShineLikeStars

Bonjour !

Où est-ce que je devrais mettre le mot 'aussi' dans la traduction française ?

English: Here are some info sheets which I provided to our former colleague. They could also be useful to you.

Français : ... Elles (les fiches d'info) pourraient aussi vous être utiles | Elles pourraient aussi t'être utiles ?

Merci beaucoup !
SLS


----------



## AmaryllisBunny

"... you may [also] find them useful..."

Whether you use "also" [in your translation] depends on the preceding and proceeding sentences.


----------



## Maître Capello

ShineLikeStars said:


> Elles (les fiches d'info) pourraient aussi vous être utiles | Elles pourraient aussi t'être utiles


Perfect!  I prefer your word placement, but you could also say, _Elles pourraient t'être aussi utiles_.


----------



## Hiimnoam64

It confuses me a little bit were should I place it. For example if I say in English;

1) "Someone has *also* eaten my porridge" or

"Someone *also* has eaten my porridge" They both would imply that that 'someone' has eaten something else of mine, besides the porridge. Or that they eaten 'not only your porridge but mine also'

2) "Someone has eaten my porridge *also*" only in the sense of 'not only your porridge but mine also'

What would then be the case in French? If I'll say for instance;

1) "Quelqu'un a *aussi* mangé mon porridge !"

2) "Quelqu'un *aussi* a mangé mon porridge !"

3) "Quelqu'un a mangé mon porridge *aussi* !"

Or perhaps some of them aren't even grammatically correct :/


----------



## Kwistax

En français, la seule qui soit tout à fait correcte est la 1. Pas la 2. Éventuellement la 3.


----------



## Hiimnoam64

Kwistax said:


> Éventuellement la 3.



Oh, and will it change the meaning or would it mean the same?


----------



## Kwistax

It could be said if someone, a moment before, had also eaten something else that you didn't expect him to eat, or didn't want him to eat; you discover that and then find out he also ate your porridge. In this case, you want to stress the fact that *on top of it*, your porridge has been eaten too.

To be clear, here's what the situation could be:

Jean a mangé mon sandwich! (and then a moment later) Jean a manger mon porridge aussi!


----------



## srk502

In the following sentences, have i placed the adverb aussi correctly ?

_Prépare-toi à écrire des histoires aussi._ (prepare yourself for writing the stories also ..... along with writing other stuff)

_Prépare-toi à aussi écrire des histoires._ (prepare yourself also for writing the stories ...... along with doing somthing else)


Thanks in advance.


----------



## Maître Capello

Your sentences are correct but there are actually four possible adverb placements and your suggestions are not the solutions that first come to (my) mind:

_Prépare-toi *aussi* à écrire des histoires._  (either meaning is possible, but rather: _along with *doing* something else_)

_Prépare-toi à *aussi* écrire des histoires._ () (either meaning is possible)

_Prépare-toi à écrire *aussi* des histoires._  (only one possible meaning: _along with *writing* something else_)

_Prépare-toi à écrire des histoires *aussi*._ () (either meaning is possible)
Although there is in theory a nuance in meaning between the different adverb placements, there is actually barely any difference in practice.


----------



## dattse

So what would "Il est élève de chinois aussi." mean?

"He's a student of Chinese too (and also of Russian and Japanese)."
or "He, too (along with Peter and Tom), is a student of Chinese."


----------



## Maître Capello

dattse said:


> So what would "Il est élève de chinois aussi." mean?


It is not possible to say without further context. It can mean either.

Anyway, that sentence with a trailing _aussi_ is not very natural to me.


----------



## dattse

Maitre Capello: Then what is the natural way to say the following?

"He's a student of Chinese too (and also of Russian and Japanese)."
"He, too (along with Peter and Tom), is a student of Chinese."


----------



## Maître Capello

He's a student of Chinese too (and also of Russian and Japanese). → _Il étudie aussi le chinois_.
He, too (along with Peter and Tom), is a student of Chinese. → _Lui aussi étudie le chinois_.


----------



## dattse

Interesting! I thought "élève" would be used in such situations. I guess I was wrong.


----------



## dattse

I understand that "Je suis élève de chinois." is not as idiomatic as "J'étudie le chinois."

However, if someone insisted on using the former to say "I, too (along with Peter and Tom) am a student of Chinese.", which of the following would be more idiomatic:

Moi aussi je suis élève de chinois.
Je suis élève de chinois, moi aussi.

I know that "Je suis élève de chinois aussi." would be unidiomatic (and perhaps even wrong) here.


----------



## Maître Capello

dattse said:


> if someone insisted on using the former


They would be wrong to do so…  That would indeed be far less idiomatic.



dattse said:


> Moi aussi je suis élève de chinois.
> Je suis élève de chinois, moi aussi.


From a pure syntactical point of view, both are possible. The best choice depends on style and context, but the former is more likely to be preferred.



dattse said:


> I know that "Je suis élève de chinois aussi." would be unidiomatic (and perhaps even wrong) here.


It wouldn't be unidiomatic, but it wouldn't be as common and it would be ambiguous as it could mean either "I, too (along with Peter and Tom) am a student of Chinese" or "I'm a student of Chinese too (and also Russian, etc.)".


----------



## dattse

Oh, I see. Then I'll definitely avoid "Je suis élève de chinois."! Let's substitute "J'aime le chinois." instead!

J'aime le chinois, moi aussi. - idiomatic, and can only mean "I, too (along with Peter and Tom), love Chinese (i.e. the Chinese language.)"

Moi aussi j'aime le chinois. - same as above

J'aime le chinois aussi. - idiomatic, but ambiguous, for it could mean either "I, too (along with Peter and Tom), love Chinese." or "I love Chinese too (along with Japanese and Russian)."

What about "J'aime aussi le chinois."? Is it idiomatic? If so, what are its possible meanings?


----------



## Maître Capello

_J'aime aussi le chinois_ is just as ambiguous as _J'aime le chinois aussi_. The former is however a lot more idiomatic than the latter.


----------



## dattse

Oh, I didn't realize _J'aime le chinois aussi_ is not very idiomatic. Thank you!

I guess there is no unambiguous and idiomatic way of saying _I love Chinese too (along with Japanese and Russian)._


----------



## Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

So in _Je m'y intéresse aussi._ and _J'y pense aussi._ is the word _aussi_ related to the subject, _je_? In other words, is the speaker saying _I, too, am interested in that._ and _I, too, am thinking of that._?

The context for the first sentence is that it was preceded by _Il s'intéresse au sport._
The second sentence was preceded by _Elle pense à ses vacances._


----------



## Maître Capello

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off said:


> In other words, is the speaker saying _I, too, am interested in that._ and _I, too, am thinking of that._?


Yes. 

For the same phrase, _aussi_ may refer to different parts of speech depending on context:

_*Il* s'intéresse au sport. *Je* m'y intéresse *aussi*._ = Moi aussi, je m'intéresse au sport. (Here _aussi_ refers to the subject.)
_Je m'intéresse au *cinéma*. Et *le sport*, je m'y intéresse *aussi*._ = Je m'intéresse non seulement au cinéma, mais aussi au sport.  (Here _aussi_ refers to the indirect object.)
_Je *fais* du sport. Je m'y *intéresse aussi*._ = Je fais du sport et je m'intéresse au sport. (Here _aussi_ refers to the verb.)

_*Elle* pense à ses vacances. *J'*y pense *aussi*._ = Moi aussi, je pense à mes vacances.  (Here _aussi_ refers to the subject.)
_Je pense au *week-end*. Et c'est bientôt *les vacances*. J'y pense *aussi*._ = Je pense au week-end et aussi aux prochaines vacances.  (Here _aussi_ refers to the indirect object.)
_J'*aime* les vacances. J'y *pense aussi*._ = J'aime les vacances et je pense aux vacances.  (Here _aussi_ refers to the verb.)


----------



## Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Je vous remercie, Maitre Capello ! Thank you an amazingly comprehensive reply!


----------



## s9lavoll

Hello,

maybe someone could help me with these sentences:
1. Il est aussi dans le magasin. 
2. Il est dans le magasin aussi.

Are both possible? Is there one that is more idiomatic?

Thank you so much!!!


----------



## SwissPete

Only 1. is possible.

2. would tag you as someone who is confused as to the placement of _aussi_.


----------



## Maître Capello

I beg to disagree: both adverb placements are possible. However, neither sentence sounds natural because it is an odd thing to say. What would you say in English? What is the exact context? In particular, what or who does "Il" refer to?


----------



## s9lavoll

Il is meant to replace a male person - e.g. John is also in the store.


----------



## Maître Capello

As I said, it is an odd thing to say because people don't have the gift of being everywhere at once – you may be only at one place at a time.

Again, what is the full context? What are you trying to say exactly?


----------



## jann

Maître Capello said:


> As I said, it is an odd thing to say because people don't have the gift of being everywhere at once


Indeed.  And so in American English, at least, the "also" in "John is also in the store" will automatically be understood as a reference to a second person previously mentioned, not a second place:  _John, in addition to someone else_, not _the store, in addition to somewhere else_. 

Now I'm not s9lavoll, so I don't know the original context... and s9lavoll's profile lists German as a native language, so the original idea may not have been in English.  But English is relatively sloppy flexible about words like "also," "too," and "only," in the sense that multiple positions are often possible (or at least tolerated, especially in speech), and we often trust to common sense -- or intonation -- to resolve any potential ambiguity.  The French sentence options originally mentioned sound rather like direct translations of (permissible) English syntax.

s9lavoll, it would be quite helpful if you could explain the concept/context you have in mind and what the uncertainty was behind your original question.


----------



## Masonh928

Je suis d'accord avec Jann. En anglais, on comprend que John est dans le même magasin qu'une autre personne.

Par exemple:
"Allô mon fils, je viens de finir au boulot, et maintenant je suis à Monoprix. Ton papa est où?" - demanda-t-elle à son fils. "Papa, il est aussi dans le (même) magasin. Il y est allé y'a 30 minutes, maman." - répondit-il.

C'une bizarre exemple, mais c'a du sens.


----------



## Maître Capello

I now realize my previous post is a bit ambiguous. When I said it was on odd thing to say, I was only talking about the French, not the English. 

Anway, that meaning (_I, along with other people_) is possible in French too. However, in French, an adverb placed right after the verb typically modifies the verb or its complement. It will usually not modify the subject. This is the reason that _Il est aussi dans le magasin_ suggests he is in different places at once! To modify the subject, we would rather phrase it differently:

_Il est *lui aussi* dans le magasin.
*Lui aussi* est dans le magasin._


----------



## jekoh

Maître Capello said:


> This is the reason that _Il est aussi dans le magasin_ suggests he is in different places at once!


It only suggests that because no context was given. In the real world the sentence doesn't come out of the blue, and both sentences in #65 are correct and natural to mean _John, in addition to someone else, is in the store._


----------

