Adverbs / adverbios

Definition: Adverbs are words used to modify or describe verbs, adjectives, or other
adverbs.
An adverb can give information about time, place, manner, or number and answer
questions such as:
 How?  When?
 How long?  Where?
 How often?

Spanish adverbs are invariable, which is a fancy way to say they do not change
according to the gender or number. This is because adverbs modify verbs, adjectives
and adverbs, not nouns.

Adverb Placement

In Spanish, the position of the adverb will depend on what you want to emphasize in
the sentence. The closer you are to the end of the phrase, the more it will be
highlighted. But there are certain rules that must be respected as well as certain
features that we should not leave out.

General rules:
 An adverb usually comes after the verb it modifies.

Cantas bien.
You sing well.

 An adverb always comes before the adjective it modifies.

Eres muy alto.
You're very tall.

 An adverb always comes before the adverb it modifies.

Hablas demasiado rápido.
You speak too quickly.

Special features
 Normally, the adverb does not appear between the auxiliary verb and the main
verb.
Ejemplo: Ella había probado suficientemente la raqueta.

 The adverbs that complement an infinitive are placed directly behind it.

Ejemplo: El vendedor le propuso mostrarle tranquilamente diversos modelos.

 If the adverb refers to an entire sentence, then it can be placed between the
subject and the verb. Some of these adverbs are: casi (almost), incluso (even),
nunca (never), todavía (yet), también (also), sólo (only), solamente (only) and ya
(already).
However, if the sentence is negative, then the adverb will be placed after the verb.
Ejemplo: Ella tampoco sabía jugar al tenis.
No sabía jugar tampoco al tenis.
No sabía jugar al tenis tampoco.

 The adverbs that complement another adjective or another adverb are placed
before the adjective or adverb.
Ejemplo: Como ella no sabía muy bien cual era mejor, pidió consejo a un
vendedor.

 In addition many modal adverbs, place or time may appear at the beginning of a
sentence.

Ejemplo: Había realmente muchas opciones distintas. → Realmente había

muchas opciones distintas.

Types of Adverbs
Adverbs can be categorized into several types, including adverbs of place, adverbs of
time, adverbs of quantity, and adverbs of manner.

Adverbs of Place

Adverbs of place answer questions like Where? and give information on location.

Spanish English Spanish English

aquí here acá here
allí there allá there
cerca near lejos far
delante in front detrás behind
encima on top debajo underneath
dentro inside fuera outside
adelante ahead atrás behind
arriba up, above abajo down, below
adentro inside afuera outside

Examples

El templo está allá. Aquí hay muchas flores.

The temple is over there. There are lots of flowers here
Adverbs of Time

Adverbs of place answer questions like When? and How often? and are used to give
information on time, duration, and frequency.

Spanish English Spanish English

hoy today ahora now
mañana tomorrow ayer yesterday
anoche last night anteayer the day before
yesterday
anteanoche the night before previamente previously
last
recientemente recently actualmente currently
brevemente briefly permanentemente permanently
diariamente daily frecuentemente frequently
todavía still ya already
nunca never siempre always
ocasionalmente occasionally semanalmente weekly

Examples

Llegaste tarde a clase. Todavía no ha comido sus guisantes.

You arrived to class late. He still hasn't eaten his peas.

Adverbs of Quantity or Degree

Adverbs of quantity or degree answer questions like How much?, or To what

extent? and are used to give information on quantity, number, and degree.

Spanish English Spanish English

muy demasiado
very too much
mucho poco
a lot a little
menos más
less more
tanto bastante
so much enough
algo nada
somewhat not at all

Examples

Comí demasiado anoche. Estoy muy cansada.

I ate too much last night. I am very tired.

Adverbs of Manner

Adverbs of manner answer questions like How?, or In what way? and are used to give
information on the way something is done.
 Spanish English Spanish English
bien well mal badly
mejor better peor worse
rápido fast, quickly despacio slowly
claramente clearly inteligentemente intelligently
bonito beautifully cuidadosamente carefully
alto loudly quieto quietly
dulcemente sweetly estupendamente stupendously
seriamente seriously voluntariamente voluntarily
así like this, this way fácilmente easily

Examples

Lo siento, pero así soy yo. Estoy bien, gracias.

I'm sorry, that's the way I am. I'm well, thank you.

Manner can frequently be expressed using adverbial expressions that use the following
formulas.

 de manera + adjective

 de modo + adjective

 con + noun

Escribe de modo romántico para

Me besó de manera dulce. ganar su corazón.
He kissed me sweetly. I wrote romantically to win her heart.

Hice el examen de manera fácil. Me besó con dulzura.

I completed the exam easily. He kissed me sweetly.

Corrí de modo rápido para escaparme

Hice el examen con facilidad.
de los perros.
I completed the exam easily.
I ran quickly to escape from the dogs.

Adverbs of affirmation

Adverbs of affirmation serve to reinforce (or sometimes soften) a statement.

Ejemplo: ciertamente (certainly), cierto (true), claro (clear), efectivamente (indeed),

exacto (exact), obviamente (obviously), seguramente (surely), sí (yes), también
(also), verdaderamente (truly)

Adverbs of denial

The adverbs of denial serve to deny statements.

Ejemplo: en absoluto (absolutely), jamás (never), negativamente (negatively), no,
nunca (never), tampoco (either)

Adverbs of doubt

They are those that express doubt or uncertainty.

Ejemplo: a lo mejor (maybe), posiblemente (possibly), probablemente (probably),

puede (it can), puede ser (maybe), quizá(s) (maybe), seguramente (surely), tal vez
(maybe)

Adverbial Expressions

Below you will find some more common Spanish adverbial expressions.

Spanish English Spanish English

a ciegas blindly a veces sometimes
al final in the end a tiempo on time
de día during the day de noche at night
de verdad really, truly por fin finally
sin cuidado carelessly con cuidado carefully
at the same
a la perfección perfectly a la vez
time
de una vez por
al principio in the beginning once and for all
todas
a diario daily a menudo often
de inmediato immediately de nuevo once again
en serio really, seriously en realidad really
a diestra y
all over the place a escondidas secretly
siniestra
at dusk, at
al anochecer al amanecer at dawn
sunset
a oscuras in the dark a la moda fashionably
en casa at home con frecuencia frequently
con alegría happily con tristeza sadly
de buena gana willingly de mala gana unwillingly
de pronto suddenly de repente suddenly
por desgracia unfortunately por suerte luckily
de memoria by heart de prisa quickly

Forming Adverbs
Adverbs can be formed from adjectives. In addition, adverbs do not accompany nouns
or pronouns, but complement verbs (except being), adjectives or other adverbs.

 The feminine form of the adjective is taken and the ending is added -mente.

Ejemplo: Carmen comía tranquilamente un helado.

tranquilo, tranquila → tranquilamente
  If the adjective ends in -e or in a consonant, the ending -mente will be added
simply.

Ejemplo: Finalmente, Carmen continuó comiéndose el helado.

Exceptions

 When we have several consecutive adverbs in a sentence, we only add the

ending -mente to the last one. And the previous adverbs will go in the feminine
form of the corresponding adjective.

Ejemplo: La araña descendió lenta y silenciosamente.

lento, lenta → lenta(mente), silencioso, silenciosa → silenciosamente

 If the adjective bears a tilde, it will remain so in its adverbial form.

Ejemplo: Carmen estaba sentada plácidamente en una silla.

plácido, plácida → plácidamente

 Some adjectives adopt completely different adverbial forms:

adjetivo masculino adjetivo femenino adverbio

bueno buena bien
malo mala mal

Adjetive or adverb
In Spanish, the essential difference between adjectives and adverbs is that the first
complete the noun, while the second define the verb, adjective or other adverb.

Adjectives define nouns (how is something or someone?). They agree in number and
gender with the noun they qualify.

Ejemplo: Los ratones están felices y nos miran riéndose.

¿Cómo están los ratones? – felices

Han hecho un buen trabajo.

¿Cómo es su trabajo? – bueno

bueno pierde la o delante de un sustantivo masculino singular.

Adverbs define adjectives, verbs or other adverbs (how does someone do something,
how is good / bad ... someone / something?). In Spanish, adverbs can be formed from
an adjective by adding the ending mind

Ejemplo: Han trabajado felizmente.

¿Cómo han trabajado? – felizmente (feliz → felizmente)

 Han trabajado bien.

¿Cómo han trabajado? – bien (bueno → bien)

Adjectival adverbs

Some adverbs have the form of an adjective or participle in their singular masculine
form and are therefore invariable. Later we present a list of verbs and the adjectival
adverbs with which they are associated in most cases.

Ejemplo:

Ella corre rápido/lento.

Ellos hablan alto/bajo.
Las chicas se levantan temprano.

verbo adverbio adjetival ejemplo

arrojar, colocar, poner, subir, volar alto, bajo La avioneta vuela muy alto.
throw, place, put, climb, fly high, low The plane flies very high.
cantar, conversar, decir, hablar, llamar, alto, bajo, fuerte, recio, claro
Mi vecina canta muy alto.
pronunciar loud, loud, strong, hard,
My neighbor sings very loudly.
sing, talk, say, speak, call, pronounce clear
Nunca he comprado tan
comprar, vender barato, caro
barato.
buy, sell cheap, expensive
I have never bought so cheap.
bárbaro,
Nos lo hemos pasado
ir (a uno), pasar(lo), sentirse fenomenal/fenómeno
fenomenal.
go (to one), pass (it), feel barbarous, phenomenal /
We have had a great time.
phenomenon
Esta lavandina lava más
Lavar (más) blanco blanco que esta otra.
wash (more) white This bleach washes more
white than this one.
oír, ver Claro Yo lo veo claro.
hear, see clearly I see it clearly.
Después de trabajar iré
derecho, recto, rápido,
caminar, continuar, ir, salir, seguir, venir derecho a casa.
despacio
walk, continue, go, go out, follow, come After working I will go straight
right, straight, fast, slowly
home.
Ya sabes que en ese tema él
pensar, opinar Distinto piensa distinto.
think, opine differently You already know that on that
subject he thinks differently.
Los empleados trabajan muy
Trabajar duro, fuerte
duro.
work strong, hard
Employees work very hard
dar, pegar Duro El policía le dió duro al ladrón.
slap, hit hard The police hit the thief hard.
ir, pasar, oír Fatal Mis abuelos oyen fatal.
go, pass, hear fatal My grandparents hear fatal.
Mirar Fijo Hay que mirar muy fijo para
look fixed poder ver una estrella fugaz.
 You have to look very fixed to
see a shooting star.
Pisa tan fuerte como puedas
Pisar fuerte, firme para no resbalarte.
step strong – hard, firm Step as hard as you can to
avoid slipping.
granizar, llover, nevar, tronar Fuerte Hoy nieva muy fuerte.
hail, rain, snow, thunder strong Today it snows very strong.
Esa película me ha calado
calar, clavar, enterrar, penetrar, respirar, herir
Hondo muy hondo.
to pierce, to nail, to bury, to penetrate, to
deeply That film has penetrated me
breathe, to hurt
very deeply.
He hablado largo y tendido
conversar, hablar largo (y tendido) con mi jefe.
chat, talk, speak long (and lying) I have talked at length with my
boss.
abrir, conocer, enterarse (de), escribir, hablar,
levantarse, llegar, pensar, poseer, trabajar, --Hay que enterarse primero
primero, rápido, pronto,
subir de dónde tenemos que ir.
temprano
to open, to know, to know, to write, to speak, You have to find out first where
up first, fast, early, early
to get up, to arrive, to think, to possess, to we have to go.
work, to go