Grammar Tip – Spanish Adverbs
Los adverbios
Los adverbios (adverbs) are a group of words that are invariable, whose purpose is that of modifying the meaning of several other grammatical categories, mainly a verb, an adjective, a whole sentence even or a word of the same type, that is, another adverb.
Spanish adverbs are usually classified into several categories depending on their meaning:
| CANTIDAD | QUANTITY |
| mucho | much |
| poco | a little bit |
| muy | very |
| casi | almost |
| todo | all |
| nada | nothing |
| algo | some |
| demasiado | too |
| bastante | quite |
| también | as well |
| LUGAR | PLACE |
| aquí | here |
| ahí | there |
| cerca | near |
| lejos | far |
| fuera | outside |
| dentro | inside |
| alrededor (de) | around |
| aparte | apart |
| encima | over |
| debajo | under |
| delante (de) | in front of |
| detrás | behind |
| NEGACIÓN | NEGATION |
| no | (do) not |
| tampoco | neither |
| jamás / nunca | never |
| AFIRMACIÓN | AFFIRMATION |
| sí | yes |
| también | as well |
| asimismo | likewise |
| TIEMPO | TIME |
| ahora | now |
| antes | before |
| después | after |
| tarde | late |
| luego | then |
| ayer | yesterday |
| temprano | early |
| ya | already |
| todavía | still |
| anteayer | the day before yesterday |
| pronto | soon |
| hoy | today |
| DUDA | INCERTAINTY |
| acaso | perhaps |
| quizá (-s) | maybe |
| tal vez | perhaps |
| a lo mejor | maybe |
| MODO | MANNER |
| bien | well |
| mal | badly |
| despacio | slowly |
| rápido / deprisa | quickly |
With regards to adverbs of manner, most adjectives can become adverbs following the rules below based on the adjective ending:
– the feminine form of a qualifying adjective is taken and the ending -mente is added.
E.g.: silencioso → silenciosa → silenciosamente (silently)
tranquilo → tranquila → tranquilamente (quietly)
– if the adjective ends in -e or in a consonant, the ending -mente is simply added.
E.g.: amable → amablemente (kindly)
normal→ normalmente (normally)
Generally, the position of the adverb within the sentence can vary without substantially affecting its meaning. However, the negation adverb no must always precede the verb.
Let’s look at some examples:
Antes había una calle allí. → Before, there used to be a road there.
El sofá era muy caro. → The couch was very expensive.
La bailarina baila graciosamente. → The dancer moves graciously.
No quieren que vayas con ellos. → They do not want that you go with them.
Mi abuela nunca vio un tren tan rápido. → My granny never saw such a fast train.
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