1. ANTE TODO
Adverbs are words that describe how, when, and where actions take place.
They can modify verbs, adjectives, and even other adverbs.
In previous lessons, you have already learned many Spanish adverbs, such as the ones below.
aquí hoy nunca
ayer mal siempre
bien muy temprano

2. The most common adverbs are those which end in
–mente. These are equivalent to the English adverbs which end in -ly.
fácilmente
easily
generalmente
generally
verdaderamente
truly; really
simplemente
simply

3. fabuloso  fabulosa  -mente  fabulosamente
To form adverbs which end in –mente, add –mente to the feminine form of the adjective.
If the adjective does not have a special feminine form, just add –mente to the standard form.
FEMININE
ADJECTIVE FORM SUFFIX ADVERB
seguro  segura  -mente  seguramente
fabuloso  fabulosa  -mente  fabulosamente
enorme  -mente  enormemente
feliz  -mente  felizmente

4. ¡ATENCIÓN! El médico nos habló simple y abiertamente.
When a sentence contains two or more adverbs in sequence, the suffix –mente is dropped from all but the last adverb.
El médico nos habló simple y abiertamente.
The doctor spoke to us simply and openly.
Adjectives do not lose their accents when adding
–mente.
fácil  fácilmente débil  débilmente

5. Javier dibuja maravillosamente.
Adverbs that end in –mente generally follow the verb, while adverbs that modify an adjective or another adverb precede the word they modify.
Javier dibuja maravillosamente.
Javier draws wonderfully.
Inés está casi siempre ocupada.
Inés is almost always busy.

6. Common adverbs and adverbial expressions
a menudo
often
con frecuencia
frequently
a tiempo
on time
de vez en cuando
from time to time
a veces
sometimes
despacio
slowly
además (de)
furthermore; besides
menos
less
apenas
hardly; scarcely
muchas veces
a lot; many
times
así
like this; so
poco
little
bastante
enough; rather
por lo menos
at least
casi
almost
pronto
soon
rápido
quickly

7. ¡ATENCIÓN!
Rápido functions as an adjective (Ella tiene una computadora rápida.) as well as an adverb (Ella corre rápido.).
Note that as an adverb, rápido does not need to agree with any other word in the sentence.
You can also use the adverb rápidamente (Ella corre rápidamente.).

8. ¡INTÉNTALO! Transforma los siguientes adjetivos en adverbios.
1. alegre ____ tranquilo ____
2. constante ____ regular ____
3. gradual ____ maravilloso ____
4. perfecto ____ normal ____
5. real ____ básico ____
6. frecuente ____ afortunado ____