Is "je suis allé souvent" correct or should it be "je suis souvent allé?"
Thanks
Thank you for using the Jiskha Homework Help Forum. This would depend upon what you which to stress. Often the adverb (souvent in this case) goes after the conjugated verb, but, you as the speaker, could choose. Here is the rule:
In compound tenses, the position of the adverb varies. Most adverbs, especially long ones and adverbs of time and place, generally follow the past participle. A few common ones, such as bien, mal, souvent, toujours, déjà, and encore, as well as the adverbs of quantity, usually precede the past participle.
Sra (aka Mme)
Both "je suis allé souvent" and "je suis souvent allé" are grammatically correct in French. However, their usage depends on the intended meaning you want to convey.
In "je suis allé souvent," the past participle "allé" is placed before the adverb "souvent." This sentence structure emphasizes the frequency of the action. It can be translated as "I have often gone."
On the other hand, "je suis souvent allé" follows the typical past participle placement in French. The adverb "souvent" is placed after the past participle "allé." This structure emphasizes the action of going itself and can be translated as "I have gone often."
So, the choice between the two structures depends on which aspect you want to highlight in your sentence.