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Adverbs

Adverbs are usually used to describe a verb. In other words, they describe actions. This adds more detail. Adverbs can describe how something is being done (quickly, badly, etc) and when, where or how often something takes place.

Most Spanish end in -mente, like -ly in English, for example:

  • regularmente (regularly), eg juego al tenis regularmente (I play tennis regularly)
  • lentamente (slowly), eg el tren viaja lentamente (the train travels slowly)

Most of the time the adverb goes after the it is describing. Adverbs are invariable, which means they only have one form and do not change according to gender or number.

Adverbs ending in -mente

An adverb can be formed from almost any in Spanish. Add -mente to the feminine singular form. Here are some examples:

AdjectiveFeminine singular formAdd -mente
completo (complete)completacompletamente (completely)
suave (soft)suave (no change)suavemente (softly)
correcto (correct)correctacorrectamente (correctly)
grave (serious)grave (no change)gravemente (seriously)
Adjectivecompleto (complete)
Feminine singular formcompleta
Add -mentecompletamente (completely)
Adjectivesuave (soft)
Feminine singular formsuave (no change)
Add -mentesuavemente (softly)
Adjectivecorrecto (correct)
Feminine singular formcorrecta
Add -mentecorrectamente (correctly)
Adjectivegrave (serious)
Feminine singular formgrave (no change)
Add -mentegravemente (seriously)

For example, es importante escribir correctamente (it's important to write correctly).

Question

Change these adjectives into adverbs.

  1. á辱
  2. ruidoso
  3. seguro
  4. á
  5. triste

Adverbs used as comparatives and superlatives

In the same way as with adjectives, adverbs can also be used to make comparisons using más que (more than) and menos que (less than). For example:

  • Llego más á辱岹Գٱ en coche que en tren (I arrive more quickly by car than by train).

Similarly, adverbs can also be used as superlatives. For example:

  • Ir de compras es la actividad que hago más regularmente (Going shopping is the activity that I do most often).

Other adverbs

As well as regular adverbs that end in -mente, there are other types of adverbs.