All about Spanish Adverbs

Spanish adverbs are similar to those in English in that they can be generally recognized by their endings. In most cases they end in "-mente".

In English most adverbs end in the letters "-ly".

Examples are slowly, gently, rapidly.

An adverb is a word that describes or embellishes a verb (a doing word or action word).

Forming the Spanish Adverb

To form the adverb in Spanish the feminine form of the descriptive adjective is taken and to this is added "-mente."

For example:

English	Masculine Adjective	Feminine Adjective	Adverb
slowly	lento	lenta	lentamente
clearly	claro	clara	claramente
frankly	franco	franca	francamente
happily	feliz	feliz	felizmente
exactly	exacto	exacta	exactamente

Adjectives used as Adverbs

Certain adjectives can be used as adverbs.

alto, bajo, barato, claro, derecho, fuerte, rápido

• hablar alto - to speak loudly
• hablar bajo - to speak quietly
• hablar fuerte - to speak loudly
• costar barato - to be cheap
• costar caro - to be expensive
• ver claro - to see clearly
• nadar rápido - to swim rapidly

(Source: Collins Spanish Dictionary plus Grammar, 2001. To buy this book see the Spanish Books section).

Position of Adverbs

Spanish Adverbs are generally placed after the verb they modify, but there is no hard and fast rule in Spanish.

Irregular formation of Spanish Adverbs

Good and bad are formed irregularly in Spanish.

bueno (good) becomes bien (well). malo (bad) becomes mal (badly).

To learn more about more effectively absorbing Spanish adverbs click on the link. Learning and memorizing Spanish Adverbs more effectively.

Spanish Adjectives | Spanish Adverbs | Spanish Conjunctions & Prepositions | Spanish Genders | Spanish Grammar | Spanish Pronunciation | Spanish Verbs | Spanish Word Stress

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