Adverbs describe how, when, where, and how much, and they never agree
An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a whole sentence. Unlike adjectives, Spanish adverbs have one form only. They do not change for gender or number: Ellas hablan claramente.
La comida es buena.
Describes the noun comida, so it agrees.
Ella cocina bien.
Describes how she cooks. Casual English says “she cooks good”; Spanish never uses bueno this way.
Add -mente to the feminine singular adjective
-mente works like English -ly. If the adjective has a feminine form in -a, start from that. Otherwise, add -mente to the adjective as it is.
| Adjective | Starting form | Adverb |
|---|---|---|
| tranquilo | tranquila | tranquilamente · calmly |
| rápido | rápida | rápidamente · quickly |
| amable | amable | amablemente · kindly |
| fácil | fácil | fácilmente · easily |
| feliz | feliz | felizmente · fortunately, happily |
The accent stays
If the adjective has a written accent, the adverb keeps it: rápidamente, fácilmente, últimamente.
Two in a row share one -mente
Only the last adverb takes -mente; the first stays in its feminine form: Habló clara y lentamente.
Not every “-ly” becomes -mente in natural speech. People often prefer despacio to lentamente, con cuidado to cuidadosamente, and use a few adjectives as invariable adverbs: Corren rápido. Habla alto.
The adverbs you will hear every day
| Type | Adverbs |
|---|---|
| Manner | bien (well), mal (badly), así (like this), despacio (slowly), deprisa (quickly) |
| Time | hoy, ayer, mañana, ahora, ya (already), todavía (still, yet), pronto (soon), luego (later), temprano, tarde |
| Frequency | siempre, a menudo (often), a veces (sometimes), casi nunca (hardly ever), nunca |
| Place | aquí, ahí, allí, cerca, lejos, dentro, fuera, arriba, abajo |
| Degree | muy, mucho, bastante (quite), demasiado (too), casi (almost), poco |
Muy or mucho
Muy goes before adjectives and adverbs: muy caro, muy despacio. Mucho goes with verbs: Trabaja mucho. Before mejor, peor, más, and menos, use mucho: mucho mejor, never muy mejor.
Keep the adverb next to what it modifies
Before an adjective or adverb
Es bastante caro. Hablan muy bien. The adverb sits immediately in front.
After the verb
Adverbs of manner usually follow the verb or its object: Conduce con cuidado. Terminé el trabajo rápidamente.
At the start, for the whole sentence
Comment adverbs and time expressions often open the sentence: Afortunadamente, nadie resultó herido. Ayer llovió mucho.
Not inside a perfect tense
English says “I have always wanted.” Spanish keeps haber and the participle together: Siempre he querido ir or He querido ir siempre.
Nunca can go before the verb on its own, or after it with no: Nunca bebo café. No bebo café nunca.
Time adverbs point to the past tense you need
Adverbs of frequency usually describe habits, which take the imperfect. Adverbs that pin an event to a moment usually take the preterite.
De niño, siempre jugaba en la calle.
Also: a menudo, a veces, todos los días, normalmente
Ayer jugué al fútbol.
Also: anoche, de repente, una vez, el lunes pasado
Make each form before you reveal it
Resolvió el problema ___. (fácil)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Nos explicó todo clara y ___. (lento)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Mi hermano conduce muy ___. (well)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Esta versión es ___ mejor que la anterior. (much)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
___ he querido aprender a bailar. (always)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
De pequeña, ___ a la playa todos los veranos. (ir, yo)
Say or form the answer before you check it.