mauvais an adverb here?: "Il faisait mauvais hier"

Cheryl N.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

mauvais an adverb here?: "Il faisait mauvais hier"

Bonjour,

Mauvais is usually an adjective, but is it being used as an adverb when we say the weather is bad?

e.g. il fait mauvais.

or is it still being an adjective, and is modifying the noun: 'the weather' (replaced here by the pronoun: "it"), please?

Cheryl

Asked 6 years ago
Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
I think "il fait mauvais" is short for "il fait mauvais temps".
Cheryl N.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Merci Alan.

I know what the sentence means thanks, but my question was: is the word "mauvais" being used as an adverb or an adjective? - However, since asking this question, I have found out that the word "mauvais" is an adverb when used with the verb faire: fais/faisait, when saying that the weather is bad. It's one of two times that mauvais is an adverb. It is usually an adjective. If what I have written here is incorrect, would someone please let me know?

Kind Regards to all,

Cheryl

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. I was suggesting (I may be wrong) that "mauvais" is an adjective modifying "temps", even when the word is omitted from the sentence.
Cheryl N.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Hi Alan,

Thanks for your reply. I understand your first reply now thanks, and yes, mauvais does indeed seem to be an adjective describing bad weather. Some reliable websites that I later read though, inform that there are two occasions when mauvais works as an adverb. One is when talking about the weather: il fais mauvais. The other time is with the verb se sentir, to feel bad: elle se sent mauvais; not: elle se sent mal.

Cheryl

mauvais an adverb here?: "Il faisait mauvais hier"

Bonjour,

Mauvais is usually an adjective, but is it being used as an adverb when we say the weather is bad?

e.g. il fait mauvais.

or is it still being an adjective, and is modifying the noun: 'the weather' (replaced here by the pronoun: "it"), please?

Cheryl

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