Adverbs

Definition
Adverbs are words that describe, or modify, verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.

He ran quickly.
She spoke more slowly than he.

Most Spanish adverbs are formed by adding -mente to the feminine singular form of the adjective.
This ending corresponds to -ly in English.

Adjective

Fem. Form

Adverb

claro

clara

claramente

constante

constante

constantemente

difcil

difcil

difcilmente

Another way to form an adverb is to use the preposition con + the singular form of the noun.

Carefully
Perfectly
affectionately

Some adverbs do not follow any pattern of origination, and must simply be memorized. Here is a
list of some common ones:

too
badly
a lot
very
never
worse
little
always

When two adverbs modify the same verb, only the second one uses the -mente ending. Note that
the first adverb is the same as the feminine singular form of the adjective.

Juan works slowly and carefully.

The boy spoke to him clearly and courteously.

Adverbs We Can Do Without

Review the section on Being Concise for some advice on adverbs that we can eliminate to the
benefit of our prose: intensifiers such as very, extremely, and really that don't intensify anything
and expletive constructions ("There are several books that address this issue.")
Kinds of Adverbs
Adverbs of Manner

She moved slowly and spoke quietly.

Adverbs of Place

She has lived on the island all her life.

She still lives there now.

Adverbs of Frequency

She takes the boat to the mainland every day.

She often goes by herself.

Adverbs of Time

She tries to get back before dark.

It's starting to get dark now.
She finished her tea first.
She left early.

Adverbs of Purpose

She drives her boat slowly to avoid hitting the rocks.

She shops in several stores to get the best buys.

Positions of Adverbs
One of the hallmarks of adverbs is their ability to move around in a sentence. Adverbs of manner
are particularly flexible in this regard.

Solemnly the minister addressed her congregation.

The minister solemnly addressed her congregation.
The minister addressed her congregation solemnly.

The following adverbs of frequency appear in various points in these sentences:

Before the main verb:

I never get up before nine o'clock.

Between the auxiliary verb and the main verb:

I have rarely written to my brother without a good reason.

Before the verb used to:

I always used to see him at his summer home.

Indefinite adverbs of time can appear either before the verb or between the auxiliary and the
main verb:

He finally showed up for batting practice.

She has recently retired.

Find the adjective in the first sentence and fill the gap with the adverb.
1. Joanne is happy. She smiles ___________.
2. The boy is loud. He shouts ___________.
3. Her English is fluent. She speaks English ___________.
4. Our mum was angry. She spoke to us ___________.
5. My neighbour is a careless driver. He drives ___________.
6. The painter is awful. He paints ___________.
7. Jim is a wonderful piano player. He plays the piano ___________.
8. This girl is very quiet. She often sneaks out of the house ___________.
9. She is a good dancer. She dances really ___________.
10. This exercise is simple. You ___________ have to put one word in each space.

Fill in the words in brackets as adjective or adverb.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

He________ reads a book (quick)

Mandy is a ________ girl.(pretty)
The class is ________ lout today (terrible)
Max is a ________ singer (good)
You can ________ open this tin (easy)
Its a ________ day today (terrible)
She sings the song ________ ( good)
He is a ________driver (careful)
He is a drives the car ________ (careful)
The dogs barks ________(loud)

Rewrite the complete sentence using the adverb in brackets in its usual position.
1. Our friends must write a test. (Also)
_________________________________
2. I was joking (only)
_________________________________
3. Did you enjoy the flight? (Both)
_________________________________
4. Mary watches TV. (Hardly) (Ever)
_________________________________

5. He drives his car. (Careful)

_________________________________
6. The children play football. (in the garden)
_________________________________
7. We went to the cinema. (Yesterday)
_________________________________
8. John fell off the bike.(almost)
_________________________________
9. Her boyfriend will buy her some flowers. (Probably)
_________________________________
10. My uncle is moving to Stockholm. (Definitely)
_________________________________

Form adverbs to the given adjectives

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Perfect
Quiet
Careful
Regular
Nice
Terrible
Heavy
Good
Hard
Fantastic

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